Jimmy Kimmel brings back Judge James, his most underrated bit

Jimmy Kimmel has a lot of recurring segments but none of them are quite like Judge James.

Having a signature bit or segment is an important part of any late night television show. Jimmy Kimmel Live! has come with plenty of them but “Judge James” deserves consideration as the best of the bunch.

Conan O’Brien has his travel specials, James Corden has “Carpool Karaoke,” and Jimmy Fallon has more games then we can keep track of it seems. It’s good to have these types of memorable bits that can get fans excited when they pop up and always have the potential to go viral.

Jimmy Kimmel has come up with more than his fair share of bits during a 16 year run in late night. He’s given us “Unnecessary Censorship,” Halloween candy pranks, and picked the viral clip of the year.

And while those are among his most well-known and popular, Jimmy Kimmel has been giving fans some of his best content over the past three years in “Judge James.” Parodying daytime court shows like Judge Judy, Kimmel manages to find cases and people strange enough to come on his mock show and let him decide.

Wednesday night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! brought back “Judge James” once again. This time it was to settle a dispute over dog ownership, leggings, and sunglasses.

There is nobody who unintentionally stays in character quite like Guillermo. In just about every “Judge James” segment Guillermo the bailiff has either forgot to tell people to sit or stand or has seemingly lost track of just what is going on in the “courtroom.” Hopefully that never changes.

The case itself is surprisingly straightforward. Typically, Kimmel doesn’t deal with issues that are even remotely as serious as ownership of a pet. But still, his judgment is fair and make sense. After all, why give ownership of a dog to a woman who can’t have a dog where she lives?

Maybe it’s the fact that he didn’t come from a improv, stand-up, or acting background, but Kimmel has always had a unique talent when it comes to talking with regular people. It’s even better when the people are a little strange or aren’t so much in on the joke as Kimmel.

But it is what has made Kimmel one of the most likeable people in late night and in the entertainment industry. It also is what makes “Judge James” one of the best segments on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as well as a must-watch every time it comes out.

Hopefully it won’t be too long before we see Judge James return to the bench on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In the meantime we’ll continue to get one of the best celebrity interviewers, the week in unnecessary censorship, and so much more from Jimmy Kimmel. Stay tuned!