‘Judge Judy’ Bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd Reacts to Series Ending After 25 Seasons

Judge Judy’s longtime bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd has broken his silence after it was announced Sunday that the beloved court show will be coming to an end after 25 seasons. Taking to Instagram shortly after The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Judge Judy will end production after next season, with a new series, Judy Justice, reportedly in the works, Hawkins-Byrd shared a screenshot of Deadline‘s report.

“Happy Monday..!!” he wrote. “25 years and counting! Are y’all ready?”

Adding the hashtags “Judge Judy,” “Byrd the bailiff,” and “motivation Monday,” the post immediately had fans reacting.

“I hope that’s a new show and you’re still on it [Petri Hawkins-Byrd]!” wrote one. “LoVe you guys together!!”

“I have been watching this show since I’m a teenager and now I’m in my early 40s,” commented a second fan. “I hate the end of the Judy era but I look forward Judy Justice.”

“I watch her every night before bed I record it and watch it at night I absolutely love her,” added somebody else.

“Having palpitations in the UK right now… will be watching Ellen today.. need to know everything!!” added another, referring to the announcement, which is set to be made on Monday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

“My heart,” wrote somebody else, adding a series of broken heart emojis. “me and my husband watch y’all like someone is paying us.”

“I think what we all want to know is will YOU also be going to Judy Justice Byrd because let’s me honest Judge Judy just isn’t herself without her trust calculator, commented another, echoing the fears of many regarding what the series ending means for Hawkins-Byrd. “LOVE the show very sad to see it ending BUT so happy she’s coming back with [Judy Justice].”

After debuting in 1996, Judge Judy is set to come to an end following its 25th season, which is set to air during the 2020-2021 television season.

“I’ve had a 25-year-long marriage with CBS [Television Distribution, which distributes the show], and it’s been successful,” Sheindlin said. “Next year will be our 25th season, silver anniversary, and CBS sort of felt, I think, they wanted to optimally utilize the repeats of my program. Because now they have 25 years of reruns. So what they decided to do was to sell a couple of years’ worth of reruns. But I’m not tired, so Judy Justice will be coming out a year later.”

Judy Justice will reportedly debut in 2021.