TVSquad

The Daytime Emmys have rendered their verdict: court TV shows will compete in their own Emmy award category. On April 30th, when the nominations are announced, legal shows will vie against each other in a new category meant to honor the best in court television. That means for the first time ever, Judge Judy can go up against the likes of The People's Court, Judge Alex, Divorce Court and the rest of the justice-driven syndicated real drama series currently on the air.

Not to worry -- this isn't about Simon, Randy, or Paula. I'm not talking American Idol here. Nah, I'm talking real people, real cases, true litigants ... and so much more! You see, I'm generally off from my day job one weekday a week. Of course I have to watch television. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it, right?

I just never got into soap operas. Well, there was that period decades ago when I spent the summer home with a broken foot before the advent of the internet. But I digress. What I watch these days during the daytime hours tend to be the judge shows. Well, to digress a moment again -- WGN airs Homicide: Life on the Street at noon here. I can't miss that, of course. But then it's justice served. Who judges the judges? I do, naturally!

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]

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The Addams Family - Vol. 3
• Avatar: The Last Airbender - Complete Book 2
• Bones - Season 2
• Charmed - Season 8
• Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends - Season 2
• Fraggle Rock - Season 3
• Goosebumps - Say Cheese and Die, It Came From Beneath The Sink, and Night of the Living Dummy
• Grey's Anatomy - Season 3 (Extended)
• I Dream of Jeannie - Season 4
• Jericho - Set 2
• Judge Judy - Justice Served
• Las Vegas - Season 4
• Masada - Complete Miniseries
• McHale's Navy - Season 2
• Prime Suspect - Prime Suspect 7
• The Starter Wife - Complete Miniseries
• Supernatural - Season 2
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Fast Forward, Vol. 2
• Tom and Jerry - Spotlight Collection, Vol. 3
• Two and a Half Men - Season 1

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Having a bad day? Life could be worse: you could be Britney or Lindsy.
• S.O.B.! It's a good thing, according to BET.
• This year's list of highest paid talent on TV is interesting, if not mathematically accurate.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

It's that time of year again, when we find out how much more TV celebs make than you and I do. But this year is a huge surprise. The highest paid star on television right now is Carson Daly!

Just kidding.

Actually, it's Oprah Winfrey again, with $260 million. She wins every year. The second place celeb, American Idol's Simon Cowell, doesn't even come close, with a paltry $45 million. One thing I don't understand is, where are late night hosts like David Letterman and Jay Leno? I know they make more than some of these people but they're not on the list.

And you'll never guess who #5 is (though I'm not sure the math makes sense). The list after the jump!