Court and The People's Court have experienced a series of cancellations/revival reincarnations and shifting arbitrators, Judge Mathis has not. Consequently, of the court shows with a single production life, Judge Mathis is the second longest-running (second only to Judge Judy by three seasons). Of the long list of court shows, the only programs still in production in the genre originating from the 1990s or prior are Divorce Court (1957), The People's Court (1981), and Judge Mathis (1999). Of those three, only Judge Mathis has not suffered temporary cancellations amid its series run. Also of the three, Mathis is the only arbitrator to have hosted his program for the entirety of its run. Court show success vs congressional run opportunity From 2017 into early 2018 during the program's 19th season, Mathis considered ending his courtroom series as he was heavily encouraged by his hometown community to run for congressman of Detroit, Michigan. Due to the successful direction and longevity of his television series, Mathis eventually opted against the congressional opportunity in favor of carrying on the Judge Mathis program. Mathis stated he would like to do his court show for as long as he can. In Mathis's words, “It’s really not up to me. It’s up to the viewers. I enjoy what we do, particularly the last several years, when we were able to focus a lot more and put more resources, thanks to Warner Brothers and Telepictures, toward changing lives." Mathis expressed value in his court show's influence on drug and alcohol addicts to enroll in rehabilitation, its offering of paternity test results to litigators and providing counseling to troubled parties. 20th season anniversary Mathis has stated that from the beginning, he only expected his court show to last 3 seasons. Judge Mathis is one of the longest-running, successful programs in the court show genre. Since the 2018–19 television season, it's one of two courtroom programs to have existed for two decades under one arbitrator. As of fall 2021 with the departure of Judge Judy, Judge Mathis is now the only program currently still in production to have existed for over two decades under one arbitrator. Awards Judge Greg Mathis's "inspirational and positive messages to young people" won the court show a PRISM Commendation in May 2002. The court show went on to win an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News/Information – Series in 2004. In April 2018, the court