Judge Judy Sheindlin Talks Passing the Gavel to Son Adam on ‘Adam’s Law’

Judge Judy Sheindlin has officially passed the torch (or gavel) to her son Adam Levy.

Sheindlin famously starred on her self-titled courtroom series, Judge Judy, for 25 seasons from 1996 to 2021. She went on to lead the Prime Video spinoff Judy Justice, which will air its final episode later this year. Sheindlin has also appeared alongside Levy on the courtroom series Justice on Trial.

Sheindlin confirmed her retirement from appearing onscreen in a recent interview with People. Her TV retirement comes as Levy debuts his very own solo courtroom series, Adam’s Law. The show — which premiered on Monday, September 14 — follows Levy as he follows in his mom’s footsteps by taking on interesting cases and finding out the truth.

Sheindlin opened up about her decision to step away from the small screen while promoting Adam’s Law with Levy on the Wednesday, September 16, episode of Good Morning America. “First of all, [Adam] was ready. He was finally ready,” she explained. “And, you know, I’ve aged pretty well over the years, reasonably. I look better than my grandmother did at my age, which didn’t take a lot.”

Sheindlin clarified that she’s still “gonna be creative” in the entertainment industry, as she serves as an executive producer on Adam’s Law. “I’m just gonna take the message and put it in a little bit of a different form,” she said before joking, “I’m gonna become the Benjamin Button of court.”

 

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When asked what advice his mother gave him about leading his own series, Levy quipped, “She said, ‘Be yourself and don’t screw this up.’ On brand and direct.” He said it was “terrific” to work with Sheindlin on the series, adding, “She was there from the beginning, giving me advice on how to do the show. And then, every case that we have, she always has some input. So, I mean, it’s just incredible to be able to work with her.”

Chiming in, Sheindlin joked, “I have input, but he doesn’t listen!”

Sheindlin shared that Levy wanted to be a lawyer from a young age. “He’s a great lawyer. He was a fabulous district attorney. He had Tribunal Justice for three years, so he got a taste of what it’s like to be on the bench and to be on the other side of the bench,” she said. “[He’s] just ready. You need a voice of reason and keeping us sort of stable, trying to keep us stable in these very hard times. I don’t feel as if I’m deserting that because I’m transferring it over to someone with whom I share, or he shares with me, some basic values that we seem to have lost.”

Speaking of the series, Levy said the most important thing to him in the courtroom is “telling the truth,” saying it’s irksome when people don’t do so. “It’s not so much when they’re being stupid. It’s when they’re lying, when they’re intentionally trying to or when they are misrepresenting the truth, because that means that they’re trying to hurt the other side who is trying to tell the truth,” he stated. “And so, I do make it clear early on in the case that that’s not going to [work] to your benefit. And if they listen, it goes well, and if they don’t, it doesn’t.”

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