Judge Joe Brown

Judge Joe Brown is an American arbitration-based reality court show starring former Shelby County, Tennessee criminal court judge Joseph B. Brown. The series premiered on September 14, 1998 and ran through the 2012–13 television season for a total of fifteen seasons. Joe Brown was the second highest paid daytime television personality behind Judge Judy during the time the show was running. During the entirety of its series run, Brown was the longest serving African American television arbitrator; this record is now held by Greg Mathis of Judge Mathis, which premiered the year after Brown's program (and ended in 2023). Judge Joe Brown ran in first-run syndication and entered into its 15th and final season on September 10, 2012, also regularly airing in high-definition for the first time beginning in that same season as well. Production history Judge Joe Brown is the first African-American man to preside over a courtroom television show and the first African-American person to preside over a long-running courtroom series. However, former New York prosecutor Star Jones is the first African-American person to preside over a court show (Jones & Jury 1994–1995). With all of its seasons having aired consecutively, solely under Judge Joe, Judge Joe Brown was the second longest running television jurist for many years prior to his resignation, just behind Judge Judy Sheindlin. While there are court shows that outnumber both Judge Joe Brown and Judge Judy in seasons within the judicial arena, namely Divorce Court and The People's Court, they are also programs with multiple lives and multiple "judges" in their histories.