Judy Sheindlin is stepping away from on-camera television when Judy Justice wraps in October, and her son, Adam Levy, is taking the gavel from there. The 83-year-old judge will still be involved behind the scenes, but her next chapter will be production work rather than a seat in front of the camera.
That handoff becomes relevant now because Adam’s Law debuts Monday, giving viewers their first look at the court show Sheindlin says her son is ready to carry. Sheindlin said there are not many people who can hold a half-hour on their own without a script, and she believes Levy is one of them. “Adam Levy has what it takes,” she said, framing the new show as both a continuation and a passing of the torch.
For Levy, the move follows a long legal and television path. He earned his law degree from Hofstra Law School in 1992 and joined a panel of judges on Prime’s Tribunal Justice in 2023. Sheindlin said he is ready for his close-up after three seasons there, a vote of confidence that puts him at the center of a family brand built over decades.
The change also marks the end of a nearly 30-year on-camera run for Sheindlin, whose Judge Judy premiered in 1996 and went on to run for 25 seasons. She later launched Judy Justice on Amazon Prime in 2021, extending the formula that made her one of television’s best-known judges. A 30th anniversary special on CBS, Judge Judy: Unfiltered, Unforgettable, is set for Sept. 22.
Still, Sheindlin is not disappearing from the business she helped define. She said she wants to move away from hair and makeup, but she still wants her message to reach viewers, and she plans to keep producing Adam’s Law while developing other projects. She has also said she is content with what she has built and does not feel she has anything left to prove.
That leaves Adam’s Law as more than just a new title. It is the next test of whether the Sheindlin style can survive a change in face without losing its voice, with the mother staying in the background and the son stepping into the spotlight.
