Judge Judy Sheindlin has been presiding over court proceedings on national television since the late '90s, thanks to her series Judge Judy. The storied court show ended this past July, with 25 seasons and over 6200 episodes under its belt Now, the judge is moving on to a different series, but she'll be without her longtime bailiff, Petri Hawkins-Byrd. Byrd is now speaking out about why he’s not part of Sheindlin’s new streaming service show.
The upcoming arbitration-based reality court show, Judy Justice, is coming soon to IMDb TV. When the titular judge returns to our screens, she'll be accompanied by former LA probationary officer and Judge Judy security head Kevin Rasco, who is essentially replacing Petri Hawkins-Byrd. Byrd served as the bailiff on the original show for all 25 seasons, so many were likely surprised when a trailer for the new series showed a new face in his place. The former reality TV baliff got candid with EW regarding the reason he's not on the show, saying:
She informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project. 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.
It couldn’t have been great to find out that after nearly three decades of working for someone, you won't be staying in the position. Given that he was on the first series for its entire run, it is disappointing to hear that he won't be coming back. However, he’s remaining professional about it and is looking forward to whatever is next for him:
The call with Judy ended pleasantly enough. I don't think she understood how confused and dismayed I was after being there for 25 years, from the beginning of her career, and not being at least given the opportunity to say whether or not I wanted to continue that relationship. I'm like if I did something wrong or offended you or brought shame to the show, or if was involved in numerous scandals in the 25 years we were together, I might understand why you didn't want to bother in the end. That's just the way it went. I just know that God has something else for me.
While Petri Hawkins-Byrd will not be in Judy Justice series, fingers crossed this won’t be the last time fans will see him in a court room show. You can check out the new series when it debuts on November 1, with new episodes airing weekly on IMDb TV.
