Arbitration-based reality court show

Arbitration-based reality court show

Far more realistic than their dramatized predecessors, arbitration-based reality versions do not use actors, scripts, improvisation or recreations. Rather, they feature litigants who have legitimately been served and filed lawsuits, presenting their cases to an adjudicator or panel of adjudicators. In exchange for having their case heard on the show, the litigants must agree to dismiss their genuine cases with prejudice. Behavior and commentary from all participants involved is self-directed, as opposed to production script-directed. As such, these types of court shows fall into a subcategory of reality television. It is for these reasons that many of these particular programs make clear claims to authenticity, as text and voiceovers remind viewers that the cases, litigants, and outcomes are "real".