"Judge Hatchett" airing reruns in last season

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Judge Hatchett" has hung up her robe after eight seasons, but the court show will be back for an additional season with reruns grouped by theme, a spokeswoman for the series' syndicator said on Wednesday.

"Best of Judge Hatchett," presided over by Atlanta jurist Glenda Hatchett, will present weekly topics that could include celebrity interventions or creative sentencing.

A Sony Pictures Television spokeswoman said the show produced its last original episode in September. She declined to say why production ended, and was unable to provide ratings data because of the Christmas holiday.

The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news of the themed reruns, quoted an industry consultant as saying viewers probably would not notice any changes.

"I don't think any viewer will initially know the difference between a program that was produced two weeks ago and one that was produced two years ago," Bill Carroll, vp and director of programming at consulting firm Katz Television Group, told the trade paper.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter