Judge Judy Is Full Of Her Signature Sass As Son Adam Inherits Her TV Throne

Judge Judy might be relinquishing her throne (er, bench), but her trademark sass remains. Her son, Adam Levy, is set to star in his own courtroom daytime network show, "Adam's Law," and in the trailer for the series, Judy explained why it took so long for her son to land his own show. "I wouldn't have encouraged him to take on this responsibility five years ago, or even 10 years ago, because I wasn't ready to give it up," she told the camera while seated next to Levy. "And quite frankly, I think he has the talent to beat me. I don't like the idea of that," Judy added. Now that she felt ready to pass on the gavel, Judy spoke the truth about her son, noting Levy would thrive in the new position. "I'm confident that he has that kind of entertaining personality that will endear him," she said.

Similar to Judy, Levy is a real judge who graduated from law school in 1992. Later he started the law firm Levy & Santoro, and eventually became a district attorney in New York. "Adam's Law" is not his first foray into television, as Levy previously appeared on "Justice on Trial," and was one of the three judges on "Tribunal Justice" — both shows were produced by Judy.

Viewers who are fans of Judy's signature no-BS attitude might find familiar traits in her son. "When I was young, I learned a lot from her [Judy]," Levy told the Daily Express U.S. in June 2023. "[Y]ou might see some similar facial expressions, I can't help that, that's just my DNA. But I bring my own sense and my own style and people should like it," Levy said. At the time, Judy was reluctant to step down from the bench.

"Judge Judy" aired its last episode in 2021 after 25 seasons on CBS. According to Judy, the real reason "Judge Judy" ended was because CBS thought it had amassed enough episodes to continue in syndication without bothering to produce new ones. That led the celebrated TV adjudicator to go scorched earth on her old network. "You disrespected my creation. And you were wrong. Not only in disrespecting my creation, but your gamble in what you put in its place," she told The Wall Street Journal in June 2021. "We had a nice marriage. It's going to be a Bill and Melinda Gates divorce," Judy added. It should be noted that those hard feelings eventually subsided, as similar to one of Judy's three marriages, the divorce didn't take. Her son's show, "Adam's Law," will be hosted by CBS.

After "Judge Judy" finished, Judy was not ready for retirement so she partnered with Amazon to star in the similarly themed "Judy Justice." Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she explained why the gavel would not be passed on quite yet. "I'm not tired. I don't play golf or tennis," Judy said in May 2021. "I know what I like to do. Why, at my stage in life, would I try to find something else when I already know what I like?" she added. 

Judy viewed herself as a singular talent that couldn't easily be replicated, and compared "Judge Judy" to other long-running classic programs. "'The People's Court,' they've had several judges. 'The Tonight Show' has had several hosts. But 'I Love Lucy' only had one Lucille Ball," Judy said.