Judging Amy


Judging Amy[] is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character is a judge who serves in a family court for the Connecticut Superior Court's Hartford district; in addition to the family-related cases that she adjudicates, many episodes focus on her experiences as a divorced mother and on the experiences of her mother, a social worker in the field of child welfare. This series was based on the life experiences of Brenneman's mother.

Plot

Amy Gray, an attorney and Harvard graduate, moves back to her hometown of Hartford, Connecticut after separating from her husband Michael in New York City. She and her six-year-old daughter Lauren move in with her widowed mother, Maxine Gray who is a caseworker for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. The move back to Hartford also reunites Amy with her two brothers. Her older brother Peter juggles the operations of their late father's insurance company along with the struggles he and his wife Gillian are facing towards starting a family due to fertility issues. At the same time, Amy's younger brother Vincent an aspiring writer, struggles to jumpstart his career while working odd-end jobs. Later on, Amy's cousin Kyle McCarthy, a former med student, returns to help cope with the rehabilitation of his drug addiction. In her line of work Amy takes on a wide variety of challenging cases, with the assistance of her Court Services Officer Bruce van Exel and Court Clerk Donna Kozlowski both of whom she ultimately becomes best friends with. In the de facto series finale Amy quits the judiciary to run for the U.S. Senate.

Characters

Main

On October 21, 2005, 16-year-old Tara Correa was shot to death outside an apartment complex in Inglewood, California. Suspected gang member Damien Watts, 20, was charged with her murder on March 1, 2006; he was convicted on January 23, 2009. When charged, Watts was in custody for a separate shooting. Watts was sentenced on February 27, 2009 to life imprisonment, with no chance of parole.

Production

Judging Amy takes place in Hartford, Connecticut. Although the show often shows the Hartford Judicial District Court as having the address of 1265, the actual address of the Hartford Judicial District is 95 Washington Street, family matters are heard on 90 Washington Street and the Superior Court Juvenile Matters of Hartford is in 920 Broad Street, Hartford, CT 06106.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1: 1999–2000


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Season 2: 2000–01


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Season 3: 2001–02


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Season 4: 2002–03


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Season 5: 2003–2004


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Season 6: 2004–2005


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Broadcast

After six seasons, Judging Amy was canceled by CBS on May 18, 2005. In the United States, repeats aired on TNT until the fall of 2007. On July 17, 2011, UP began airing the series daily, albeit with content and episode edits to conform to the network's programming direction and ownership. Since February 2016 it has aired more intermittently on the network, mainly in the form of all-day marathons.
Judging Amy is broadcast in Australia on channels ELEVEN and 111 Hits and in New Zealand on Prime. In Canada, the show aired on channel Séries+ and, beginning in September 2017, in French with described video on AMI-télé. Ireland's TV3 carried the show, as did UK stations Living TV, Hallmark, Channel 4, and CBS Drama, Israel's YES Base Channel also carries the show.

Reception

Critical

Several reviewers have suggested the show took inspiration from the formula established by Providence. Reviewers also cite the relationship between Brenneman and Daly's characters as the selling point of the show. Also likely is the physical similarities at the time between Brenneman and the lead actress in Providence, Melina Kanakaredes.
Amy Gray makes reference to Providence in episode 3.18, "The Justice League of America". In this episode, Amy is attending her Harvard Law School class' tenth reunion, and her old friends cannot seem to remember Amy has moved to Hartford. They think she resides in Providence. Finally, Amy is pushed to state, "It's Hartford, David. Providence is a whole other universe."

Ratings