The six-time daytime Emmy Award winner pitched Judge Steve Harvey to ABC executives, and the next day the enthusiastic network gave the green light; its premiere episode aired Tuesday, Jan. 4. “My team didn’t know anything about the idea so when I pitched it, and they heard the idea for the first time they were surprised and excited,” Harvey exclusively told Parade.com. “ABC called me back the next day and said they wanted to do it. So that’s really how it was born." Armed with a golden gavel (and he’s not afraid to use it!) and accompanied by his trusted bailiff Nancy Price, Harvey bases his courtroom decisions on his life experiences and common sense while dishing out verdicts on everything from family disputes to unpaid bets to friendships that went sour. In addition to the opposing sides of the civil cases Harvey rules on—and yes, they really are real cases, although Harvey admits, “I’m more interested in the story of how we got to court than I am in the law”—there’s also an in-courtoom audience that, unlike in real courts of law, is encouraged to let the laughs fly. “There are some heartfelt moments [and] there’s some ridiculousness to it,” Harvey explains. “There are some heartfelt moments in it; there’s some ridiculousness to it. More than anything I use the one gift that I’ve always had and the one that’s gotten me pretty much everywhere in entertainment, and that’s my gift of comedy… it’s going to be flat-out funny!” Keep reading for more of Parade.com’s exclusive interview with Steve Harvey!
Steve, why did you want to make Judge Steve Harvey?
Well, it was unintentional. I was on a Zoom call with a lot of ABC executives and they had presented a different idea to me. We were having a great conversation, but I wasn’t really too keen on the idea. They asked what I had thought about doing. And I said, “Well, the only thing I really ever thought about doing was a judge show.” They were intrigued and I tossed them the idea that I had come up with maybe 10 years ago or longer. I just wrote it down and kept it. I had told a couple of people about it. At one point, somebody was going to do it with someone else, but it never came to fruition.
How do you juggle all of your many projects?
I have one simple theory: I care about every minute of the day. Once you start caring about the minutes in the day, you can better manage your time. You’d be surprised how much time you actually have if you start caring about the minutes. Most people go, “Well what am I going to do today,” or “What am I going to do this evening,” or “What am I going to do tomorrow?” My thing is, “what am I doing for the next five minutes, and then after that what am I doing for the next two minutes or the next 10 minutes? What am I doing in 15 minutes? I care about minutes.”
Do you enjoy Judge Judy and other courtroom reality shows?
I’ve always loved watching judge shows… It’s always interesting to me why people come to court in the first place. I mean, what are these cases about? Why couldn’t you have resolved it? This is a small claims court. It’s amazing to me that people couldn’t resolve some of these issues. After watching those shows over the years—Judge Judy and Judge Mathis, who is a friend of mine—watching all the different angles that people take on shows, I’ve always thought about how I would be as a judge. I didn’t think I could do it because I’m not a lawyer or a judge. This is my big shot at reality TV; this isn’t scripted. This is going to go down the way you see it on TV. There will be some verdicts you’ll agree with and I’m pretty sure some that you won’t, but at least it will be fun TV.
What life lessons do you want to share?
I tell people never to give up, keep pushing and try to ignore what the haters are saying. Pay no attention to people who don’t have control over your life. Life is a movie. You gotta see the beginning, you gotta pay attention to the middle, and you gotta wait for the end. A negative event doesn’t mean the end of the movie. Try to remember that every setback is really a setup for a comeback. Never ever quit. Keep the faith.
How were you changed by COVID-19 restrictions?
Just very simply, it taught me to focus on the things that are really important. To me, that’s the health and wellbeing of my family.
What are you most proud of both personally and professionally?
Professionally, it’s the fact that I’ve been blessed to have the career that I’ve had. To still be relevant in this industry after several decades is rare. I’m proud of what I have been able to accomplish. More than proud, however, I am grateful, because I know that my success has very much been the result of a lot of grace and favor. But I am most proud of a personal accomplishment: the family man that I’ve turned out to be. It was a process that took a lot of work to get right. That’s what I hang my hat on the most.
If you had the chance, what would you tell your 20-year-old self?
Keep your foot on the gas pedal, man. If I could have done my twenties differently, I would have kept my foot on the gas and been a little bit more focused. I could have identified my gift earlier and reaped the benefits sooner. But to be fair, if everything hadn’t happened in the exact order it did, I can’t be sure I’d be where I am today. So, as many mistakes, as I made as a young man, I truly don’t have any regrets. Maybe if I understood the principles of success earlier, it would have benefitted me sooner. But I didn’t and it’s okay because it worked out.
Can you please tell me about your recent travels to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Tel Aviv?
My recent visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi had personal and professional aspects to it but was wholly driven by my great love of the people and culture. I’ve developed some great relationships in the Middle East with really wonderful people, so it was another opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and to learn from their successes as a society. I also launched a business there called MELT Middle East, which aims to serve as a catalyst to bring others there to share their talents while learning about the culture firsthand. And then I went to Israel for Miss Universe. It was my first time ever in Israel, so it was quite interesting. Despite the COVID restrictions, which limited what I could see and do, it was still a great visit for me. Flying over and landing in Tel Aviv and flying past all of the historical sites by itself, was amazing.
What is it like when a longtime fan says how much you have enriched his or her life?
It really warms my heart and gives me validation that I’m doing things the right way. I always try to leave my audience with more than a laugh. I’m often surprised by the impact and reach of the information I give because I may share a personal nugget with a studio audience at the moment, but that nugget may end up as a clip that’s distributed widely, and many more people find it helpful. God willing, I’ll be 65 years old this year. Man, I’ve learned a lot from age 20 and to be able to share that with people is an important part of who I’ve become. I’m not saying that I always get it right, because I don’t. But I just try to keep doing what’s expected of me and what’s required of me and at the same time stop and smell the roses, and enjoy myself along the way, too. One of the things I’ve always asked God for, I just wanted to be a relevant person. I didn’t want to have a life that was irrelevant where I was just this funny guy or this guy that was successful and I didn’t extend my hand to teach what I knew to somebody else because that just leads up to one of my favorite sayings. Your career is what you paid but your calling is what you’re made for, and I think I’m more living in the made for the portion of my life right now.
What are you most looking forward to in 2022?
I have a lot of plans, but I always like to remain flexible. I used to make resolutions and set up plans for what I wanted for the New Year and tunnel vision towards accomplishing those goals. I still work hard and keep sight of my goals, but all of my plans are open-ended and they kind of stay that way. What’s different now is that I fully accept that God’s plan might be different from mine. Over the years I’ve learned that God’s will and plan have always been better than mine. I also know that just because it doesn’t happen on my timeline doesn’t mean that it won’t happen altogether. So, in 2022, I have a list of things that I’d love to accomplish but I just have the little asterisk next to everything–that it’s all done in God’s timing and God’s will. That releases a lot of pressure off me expecting everything to happen strictly according to my plan.
How to watch Judge Steve Harvey
Judge Steve Harvey airs new episodes Tuesdays on ABC from 8 -9 p.m. ET. and can be found streaming on Hulu. For more courtroom drama check out, Here Comes the Judge! Get the Scoop on Judge Judy’s Return to the Courtroom in New Series Judy Justice
