Hot Bench
Hot Bench Title Card
Genre	Nontraditional arbitration-based reality court show
Created by	Judge Judy Sheindlin
Directed by	Karen J. Beck
Presented by	Judge Tanya Acker[1] Judge Larry Bakman[2] Judge Patricia DiMango[3] Judge Michael Corriero[4] Judge Rachel Juarez[5] Judge Yodit Tewolde[6] Bailiff Sonia Montejano
Narrated by	Rino Romano Christopher Thomas
Opening theme	Michael Egizi
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	1,535 (as of September 8, 2022)
Production
Executive producers	Randy Douthit Maureen Fitzpatrick James Glover David Theodosopoulus
Production locations	Sunset Bronson Studios Hollywood, California
Camera setup	Multiple camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Big Ticket Television Queen Bee Productions
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	September 15, 2014 (2014-09-15) – present

Hot Bench is an American nontraditional panel-based court show that debuted in first-run syndication on September 15, 2014. The series is produced by Judge Judy's Judge Judy Sheindlin, who also created the program and concept with executive producers Randy Douthit, Maureen FitzPatrick, and David Theodosopoulos and co-executive producer James Glover for CBS Media Ventures.

Format

The series features a panel of three judges. The panel acts as an arbitral tribunal, and as with most televised court shows, the cases are a form of binding arbitration in which the litigants forgo their actual lawsuit in favor of appearing on the program.

Personnel

Background and production

Development

The concept was inspired by Judy's vacation to Ireland, a country which occasionally uses panels of three judges to handle one case: "When my husband Jerry and I were in Ireland recently, we visited the courts and watched a three-judge bench, which I found both fascinating and compelling." She added, "I immediately thought what a terrific and unique idea for a television program that brings the court genre to the next level. We have assembled three individuals with extremely varied backgrounds to serve as the judges. They are smart and talented, with terrific instincts and great chemistry, and are sure to create a 'hot bench'."^[7]

Casting

The current panel consists of Michael Corriero, Rachel Juarez, and Yodit Tewolde, who preside over small-claims cases and then argue the merits of the case amongst themselves in the chamber room before rendering a verdict (under the format, only a majority—two of the three-panel members—need to agree on the verdict). Before them, the panel consisted of attorneys Tanya Acker and Larry Bakman, along with former Brooklyn New York Supreme Court judge Patricia DiMango.^[8]

In October 2016, Bakman announced that he was leaving Hot Bench to focus on his law practice. Bakman's final episodes originally aired on October 28, 2016, and Corriero's first episode was scheduled to originally air on November 1, 2016, with series creator Judge Judy Sheindlin and her husband, former The People's Court judge Jerry Sheindlin, serving as guest judges on the Halloween 2016 original broadcasts.^[9]

In the fall of 2022, DiMango and Acker were replaced on the show by Juarez and Tewolde, while Corriero assumed the chief judge position.

The bailiff is Sonia Montejano, who was also the bailiff for Judge Joe Brown from 2006 to its end in 2013.

Release

On December 11, 2014, Hot Bench was renewed for a second season.^[10] The show airs in the UK on TruTV, and in Canada on Yes TV and in syndication. The show has produced 1,535 episodes as of September 8, 2022.

Accolades

Hot Bench has been nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards.