The verdict is in for Judge Mathis and The People’s Court, and it’s not favorable.

Both shows, each in syndication for 20+ years. have been cancelled by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Each show will air their last new episodes this spring.

According to Variety, insiders say the decision was made due to waning interest in daytime syndication programming by local TV stations. Those stations have a tighter budget for syndicated shows, thus narrowing the opportunity for the syndicators to sell ads within those shows. Station groups are expanding their local news broadcasts, which fill the time at a much lower cost.

Another syndicated staple, the Dr. Phil Show, just ended its run, and in the past year, shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Wendy Williams Show, Maury, and Dr. Oz have packed it in.

Judge Mathis, who presides over cases ranging from emotional distress to financial disputes, has been on the air for 24 seasons, winning a 2018 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program. It was the first court show featuring an African-American judge to win.

Judge Greg Mathis, who previously served as a judge in Michigan’s 36th District Court, is the longest-running Black male host on television, and second only to Judge Judy Sheindlin in presiding over a televised court show. 

The People’s Court was nominated for 12 Emmys, and won four times, receiving Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program in 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2021, which is the most wins for a court show in this category.

It was the first court show to use binding arbitration, introducing the format into the genre back in 1981, and it is the first popular, long-running reality series in the category. The show ranks as the longest-running traditional court show and second-longest running court show in general, having a total of 39 overall seasons as of the 2022-23 television year. Only Divorce Court has had a longer run, by one season. 

Judge Marilyn Milian, a former Florida prosecutor and the first Latina judge to ever host a syndicated court show, has had the longest turn on the bench, presiding for 22 years beginning in 2001. The original series ran from 1981-93 with Judge Joseph Wapner. After that, the show was off air until 1997, when it was revived.