Viewers now get the real thing, complete with whining, tears and taunts.
There are lots and lots of people who divorce amicably. Our show is about people whose marriages have ended badly. Presiding over the studio courtroom is Mablean Ephriam, not a real judge but a savvy, quick-witted lawyer with more than 20 years experience in the family courts of Los Angeles. But after scolding, lecturing and sometimes comforting the participants, she rules on a dispute that the couple mutually agreed would be resolved on the show. Some of the stuff is just utterly ridiculous.