Judge Lauren Lake’s ‘Paternity Court’ A Hit In Court Shows; Production Moves to Atlanta

In its second season, “Paternity Court”  continues to help families across America improve their complicated lives. The nationally-syndicated court show has increased significantly since its debut. In February, “Paternity Court” ranked highest in time period growth of any court show. Due to the show’s popularity, it has been renewed and will reach more than 90% of U.S. TV households.

In addition, the show has moved its production site from Los Angeles to Atlanta.  The Atlanta production schedule began on June 24 and will continue throughout the summer/fall.

Back in September 2013, we interviewed Judge Lauren Lake to talk about “Paternity Court” and what makes the show so different from the others.

We are very different. First of all, the obvious reason is because we are in a courtroom. So, right there, the decorum of our show is very different. As a judge, I’m running a courtroom and not a circus. So, as people come in with amazing and incredible stories, and they have colorful personalities and they’re animated, I can appreciate an animated person. I am animated. I make it clear we’re not going to act a fool though. So, the entire basic set-up of our show is different. But where our show is different, most importantly, it adds the legal component into the paternity issue, which I don’t think we’ve seen yet. We not only answer people’s paternity questions in terms of the DNA science (“are you or are you not the father?”), but we also deal with issues of “are we siblings” – siblings-ship paternity tests. Is my deceased son the father of a particular child? Meaning, is this my grandchild.

We see so many shows and maybe their views are different when it comes to paternity. But, people will be surprised at how many familiar legal cases involve an issue of paternity. So we are dealing with those types of cases as well. In addition to the scientific component of our show, after they get the DNA evidence, I talk with them about their legal rights and legal ramifications. Further, I empower them with that knowledge. Now that we know the truth, now that you understand how the law relates to that truth, what are you going to do with it? What are you going to do going forward? I don’t have people walk into my courtroom and I just give them an answer to just go on back to dysfunction. I want them to leave my courtroom different than the way that they came in. If they came in lost or they came in with guilt, if they came in with shame or they came in with dysfunction, or they came in angry, then I want them to leave with a better understanding of those feelings and tools to move forward so that they can live a better life.

And since its debut, the stories featured on the show have been jaw-dropping. From a story regarding a mother’s secret held in for 26 years to a man with a wife, two mistresses, and five babies, “Paternity Court” has captivated viewers each time it has aired. 

In case you’ve missed some of their best episodes, below are trailers of three of their most popular: