Judge Michael Corriero will join CBS Television Distribution’s panel court show, Hot Bench, on Nov. 1, said executive producers Randy Douthit and Maureen FitzPatrick.
Corriero replaces Larry Bakman, who is returning to private practice in Los Angeles. He joins the panel that includes Judges Patricia DiMango and Tanya Acker.
“I am thrilled to introduce Judge Michael Corriero to the Hot Benchaudience,” said Hot Bench creator Judge Judy Sheindlin, host of her own hit court show, Judge Judy. “We first met as young lawyers. Judge Corriero brings a new dimension to Hot Benchand I’m convinced that the audience will immediately embrace the wisdom of his judgment fine tuned during his 28-year judicial career.”
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On Oct. 31, Sheindlin and her husband, Judge Jerry Sheindlin both will make guest appearances on the program, trying cases with DiMango and Acker. Jerry Sheindlin is a former TV judge himself, having starred on The People’s Court from 1999-2001.
Judge Corriero has experience in jurisprudence involving children and families. Prior to joining Hot Bench, he was the executive director and founder of the New York Center for Juvenile Justice. Before that, he was executive director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City from 2008 to 2010.
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Corriero has been a judge in New York since 1980. He was a judge of the New York City Criminal Court from 1980-89, before being appointed to the New York State Supreme Court in 1989 by Governor Mario Cuomo. From 1992 to 2008, he presided over Manhattan’s Youth Part, a separate court within New York’s adult court system that deals exclusively with cases involving 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds charged with the most serious and violent crimes.
Hot Bench, now in its third season, averaged a 2.2 live plus same day household rating in the week ended Oct. 9, making it second in court to only Judge Judy and the fourth highest-rated strip in daytime, behind Judy, CTD’s Dr. Phil, Disney-ABC’s Live with Kelly and tying Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres.
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In 2015-16, the show showed the most growth of any show in syndication, gaining 33% from its prior year to average 3.4 million viewers. In March 2015, Hot Bench moved from lesser-viewed stations to more powerful CBS owned stations in top markets, replacing Sony Pictures Television’s Queen Latifah.
