''Judge Steve Harvey'' is an American
arbitration-based reality court comedy show hosted by
Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
. The series premiered on
ABC on January 4, 2022.
Unlike most courtroom programming which airs in the daytime television bracket, ''Judge Steve Harvey'' airs in
prime time. Also in contrast to most courtroom programming, which typically airs a new episode for each weekday, ''Judge Steve Harvey'' takes the approach of a
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
television schedule, airing one new episode per week.
Casting for ''Judge Steve Harvey'' was conducted in September 2021 and filming for the series ran from October to November 2021.
The show is produced by Den of Thieves in association with
Disney Branded Television
Disney Branded Television is a unit of Disney General Entertainment Content which oversees development and production of content geared towards children, teenagers and families for Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD. The unit al ...
.
In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.
On-air feel and format
Episode openings
The courtroom set takes on a ritzy, majestic display, Harvey's
bench extending vastly from one side to the other, taking up most of the courtroom.
In similar vein, the courtroom is filled with flashy
spotlights with Harvey wielding a gold-colored
gavel
A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the ...
, and the program's opening theme decorated with extravagant
pomp and circumstance
The ''Pomp and Circumstance Marches'' (full title ''Pomp and Circumstance Military Marches''), Op. 39, are a series of five (or six) marches for orchestra composed by Sir Edward Elgar. The first four were published between 1901 and 1907 ...
.
As part of the
title sequence
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...
, Harvey introduces himself
show-offishly while
talking the talk: he declares his judicial handling is without the need of
legal degrees or law backgrounds, just his unique brand of commonsense. Harvey adds to that how he has transcended the wearing of a judge's robe, instead, donning a swanky all-black
suit. A grand entrance into the courtroom follows the title sequence in which the walls of the courtroom separate for Harvey to enter through, smoke filling the scene around him. Rubin Ervin hypes up the crowd and introduces Harvey with emphatic expression as raucous music sounds.
Case proceedings
Proceedings begin with Harvey instructing litigants that they have thirty seconds to summarize their case for the viewing audience before he moves deeper into interrogating the parties. Before and during the proceedings, the audience is heard freely hooting, hollering, standing, cheering, whooping, and booing at the proceedings. This is all prompted by Harvey's
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
, derision, and ridicule at the parties before him. Harvey spends most of the cases engaged in his antics and mischievous behaviors, such as writing out signs and raising them up in the air, in one case, raising up a "
WTF" sign at a misbehaved litigant repeatedly speaking out of turn. Harvey's mischievous approach, teasing, and satire typically expose the follies and foolishness of the guests in regards to their testimonies.
Demanding acknowledgment for the parody nature of the program, Harvey openly jeers at guests who take the proceedings too seriously by acting as though they are in a real court of law, Harvey going so far as scolding the parties to stop pretending that they are in a real court and to remember and recognize they are in a
TV studio. Establishing some early catchphrases, Harvey follows each verdict with the remark, “And that’s the way I see it!” Harvey routinely acknowledges with pride that his verdicts are from his gut feelings, based on his own internal logic as opposed to any particular
code of law
A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...
.
Judge Steve Harvey
Judicial handling approach
Unlike most other television court show arbitrators, such as
Judy Sheindlin
Judith Susan Sheindlin ('' née'' Blum; born October 21, 1942), known professionally as Judge Judy, is an American court show arbitrator, media personality, television producer, author, women's advancement philanthropist and former prosecutor ...
(''
Judge Judy
''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...
'' and ''
Judy Justice
''Judy Justice'' is an American streaming arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. ''Judy Justice'' is a spin-off of courtroom series ''Judge Judy'' (1996–2021). The show feat ...
''),
Greg Mathis
Gregory Ellis Mathis (born April 5, 1960), known professionally as Judge Mathis, is a former Michigan 36th District Court judge, television court show arbitrator, author, television producer, and Black interests motivational speaker/activist. ...
(''
Judge Mathis
''Judge Mathis'' is an American syndicated arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th District Court and Black-interests motivational speaker/activist.
The courtroom series prem ...
''),
Marilyn Milian
Marilyn Milian (born May 1, 1961) is an American television personality, lecturer, and retired Florida Circuit Court judge. Since March 12, 2001, Milian has presided over the American courtroom television series ''The People's Court''. She is th ...
(''
The People's Court
''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality sty ...
''), etc., Harvey has never held any judgeship or legal licenses and has no
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
background, which is typically mandated by television court show programming.
To compensate for this, however, the miniseries has billed itself as "Harvey playing by his own rules, basing his courtroom on his own life experiences and some good old common sense".
''Judge Steve Harvey'' has been advertised as, "Harvey taking on a variety of conflicts and characters in his courtroom, from
small claims
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...
to big disputes and everything in between".
Deviating from the standard as far as judicial wear as well, Harvey is seen donning a black dress shirt, suit jacket, tie and dress pants while presiding.
In contrast to most programming in the arbitration-based reality show genre which takes to a more serious, businesslike format, Harvey seeks to exude comedy in his ''Judge Steve Harvey'' series. Another court show popular for its amusement, ''Judge Mathis'', has balanced humor with a businesslike approach to justice, contrary to Harvey's comedic and informal approach, filling airtime with his mischievousness and antics and his live audience contributing to that. This all takes the same approach Harvey has used to skyrocket the
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
''
Family Feud
''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has had three separate runs, th ...
'' to top-rated daytime
ratings success. Harvey drew considerable attention to the series for his relentless derision and scoffing humor, double takes and slow-burn reactions,
such that the game show began competing in
Nielsen ratings for top spot against ''Judge Judy'' (a typical daytime ratings leader for many years of its original run) over the 2020–21 television year.
Following the release of a trailer for the series on December 1, Harvey's arbitration handling approach was likened to his game show hosting approach in media reports.
Characterizing his judicial approach, Harvey stated:
Production
Filming location
''Judge Steve Harvey'' is filmed at the
Trilith Studios
Trilith Studios is an American film and television production studio located south of Atlanta in Fayette County, Georgia. Originally known as Pinewood Atlanta Studios, the studio has been used to produce many films and television programs, particu ...
in
Fayetteville, Georgia
Fayetteville is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,957, up from 15,945 at the 2010 census. Fayetteville is located south of downtown Atlanta.
In 2015 ...
. Located at 461 Sandy Creek Road, the Trillith Studios have been characterized as "sprawling and high-tech". The studios are currently owned by River’s Rock LLC, an
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
-based investment service company that develops and funds studio facilities for the production of film, television, music, and video games. Fayetteville lies 22 miles south of Atlanta, which is considered an important hub for television and film production.
Inside details and systems
Despite the comedic nature of the program and Harvey's playful sternness and
metafiction-style reprimands of his guests not to take the proceedings seriously as a court of law, the series is unscripted with individuals who have filed legal grievances in actual courts. Those individuals were later invited to the program by producers to have their disputes heard by Steve Harvey.
As is the case among the rest of arbitration court shows in which litigants cannot pursue a claim once ruled on by the presiding arbiter, rulings on ''Judge Steve Harvey'' are said to likely take the same legally binding format. That said, there is no official confirmation of this. Whether Harvey rules in favor of the plaintiff or defendant, the outcomes are considered a "win-win for everyone involved" because none of the litigants are responsible for paying the judgments. According to the show's official website, "all awards/judgments are paid by production".
Cast
Main
*
Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
as himself (Judge)
The bailiff on the series is former
Douglas County, Georgia bailiff Nancy Price.
The audience warm-up, Rubin Ervin, appears at the start of each episode and also instructs the audience to rise when Harvey makes his entrance.
Guest stars
*
Scott Steiner
Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...
as himself
* Sunkee Angel as herself
* Colbert Minga as Derek Porter
*
J. J. Dillon as himself
* Kevin E Tribble as Ok Mr Hightower
* Ronnie Gossett as himself
* Tyrone Evans Clark as himself
* Sham “Lady Sham” Ibrahim as herself
*
Kevin Sullivan as himself
* Tiffani Brooks as herself
* Daphne Spring as herself
Episodes
Reception
Ratings
Media reviews and ABC's scrutiny of Harvey's judicial behavior
News publication ''
The Decider'' posted an article arguing that the "ludicrous idea" that Steve Harvey is presiding over
small claims court
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...
is forgiven once viewing the program and realizing it's less of a court show and more of a comedy. ''The Decider'' went on to state that ABC is able to capitalize on the ''Family Feud'' host’s penchant for his playfully appalled behavior of speechless stares, incredulous reactions, and exasperated one-liners, a Steve Harvey formula that has led to audience amusement and high ratings in the game show genre and other hosting gigs.
With that frame of mind, it was speculated that the court show has the potential to be "an entertaining diversion, but not one that you’d care to see more than once or twice". The program's cases were characterized as goofy and self-explanatory for someone to resolve. Adding to that point, however, the article stated that the elements of these types of cases play well into what Harvey does best–reading situations and reacting.
The article made a point of praising Harvey for being, thus far, able to ridicule without being disrespectful of his guests, stating, "So far, Harvey has managed to make fun of the cases without belittling the people arguing them. That’s definitely going to be a fine line to toe, but Harvey has been around for a long time and should be able to manage that balance with ease".
However, in an appearance on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', Harvey himself revealed that he was formally chastised by ABC executives for referring to a litigant of the program as "stupid", that the network preferred he'd take a friendlier approach. During the case in question, Harvey proceeded from the bench over to the litigant to have a picture taken together, Harvey citing that he needed a photograph with the stupidest person alive. In sharing the matter with
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...
, Harvey objected to perceived
cancel culture and
political correctness, stating that celebrities can't get away with saying anything any longer and that it's having a negative impact on comedians.
See also
The court show genre has consisted of other comedies:
*''
Eye for an Eye''
*''
Gary Busey: Pet Judge''
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{ABCNetwork Shows (current and upcoming)
2022 American television series debuts
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
2020s American comedy television series
2020s American legal television series
2020s American reality television series
Arbitration courts and tribunals
Court shows
Television series by Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Television shows filmed at Trilith Studios