Although former Judge Judy bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd was not asked to join judge Judith Sheindlin’s new show Judy Justice, which upset fans, he will, however, have his day in court on a new show.
According to Deadline, the fan-favorite bailiff has landed a new show, Tribunal, which will air on Amazon Freevee, the ad-supported streaming platform formerly known as IMDb TV and the home of Sheindlin’s Judy Justice. The Brooklyn judge will also serve as creator and executive producer on Tribunal.
The new series will feature two judges from the Sheindlin-produced syndicated series Hot Bench—Patricia DiMango and Tanya Acker—along with Sheindlin’s son and former district attorney Adam Levy. The panel will collectively adjudicate real cases while also using video-enhanced presentation to allow viewers to follow each case’s events.
Byrd served as Sheindlin’s bailiff since Judge Judy‘s premiere in 1996. The longtime co-star said he was left out of discussions regarding Sheindlin’s Judy Justice, Entertainment Weekly previously reported. Byrd’s name wasn’t included when the show was announced, and he was shocked. He claimed he was left out because he was tending to his wife
, who had completed her third round of chemotherapy at the time.“She informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project,” Byrd told EW. “I didn’t inquire as to why; that’s her choice. But she did inform me that fundamentally, I was priced out as the new bailiff on her new show. My salary would have been too much. I was curious: How would she know? She didn’t ask me. She didn’t give me an opportunity to have accepted a lower salary.”
At the time, Sheindlin released a statement saying that “Byrd is terrific, and we had a great 25-year run. This is a whole new program with a whole new cast and an exciting energy.”
After learning Byrd was not invited to Judy Justice, Byrd remained optimistic about new opportunities to come. He was a guest star on The Bold and the Beautiful and has provided voice work for radio, television, and games.
He told EW, “I just know that God has something else for me.”