TVSquad

As I type this, there are 11 court shows currently in first-run syndication, with Judge Judy leading the pack. These shows have become one of the more stable franchises for stations across America, as original programming has made way for pre-packaged fare. With the market seemingly saturated by the amount of court shows, you would think that the studios would be holding off in producing any new series.

Hello! It's television -- the obese glutton of the media world!

Four new series are being worked on right now. Three of these will make their first appearances as the fall season officially begins in a few short weeks. The fourth may not appear until 2009. However, when it does, it may push Judge Judy out of the top spot its held for several years. According to TV Week, former Minnesota governor and pro-wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura is currently in negotiations to host a court show aimed at the daytime television audience. Should the negotiations work out, Jesse could be presiding over some type of court cases by the fall of next year.

Did you know that there is a total of 397 "judge" shows on TV right now? Just turn on your TV at any point during the morning or afternoon and you're bound to catch one. And now one of them, Judge Judy, is being sued by a former producer on the show.

Jonathan Sebastien, who was a producer on Judge Judy for seven years, says he was fired from the show not because ratings were down (the official reason) but because he opposed the racial screening that occurs on the show. Sebastien says that the show's supervisor, Randy Douthit, told him that he didn't want to do "anymore black shows" or have "black people arguing" or hear "black language on TV." Sebastien says that he got cases that involved black people and they were turned down.

Parties being sued are Douthit, Paramount, CBS, and Big Ticket Television.

[via TV Tattle]