With an eye toward shaking up the syndicated court-show genre, Litton Entertainment is set to launch “Street Court,” a new half-hour Monday-Friday show, for fall 2009. The series will feature former Brooklyn District Attorney Michael Mazzariello, aka “Judge Mazz,” as its tough-talking star.

The series will take the genre out of the courtroom as Mr. Mazzariello summons litigants back to the scene of each dispute. The series will travel to multiple markets over the course of the season.

“What really caught my eye was the talent of Judge Mazz first, and I realized that if we had the opportunity to take that talent and be the first in to progress the genre with a format like this, it would set up a great opportunity to succeed,” said Dave Morgan, president-CEO of Litton. “This talent and this format could make the current staged judge-courtroom obsolete.”

That new format will take the authority and tradition of the judge role and transplant it to real locations throughout the country. The genre continues to be a mainstay within the syndication ranks, with 11 shows set for lineups this fall. Court shows tend to be one of the most stable and profitable genres in syndication, with series often able to tape an entire season in under three months. However, recent launches have seen series struggle to break the 1.0 rating mark.

Mr. Morgan will serve as executive producer. The series will be produced by Strand Communications, a TV production and marketing company that has worked on a number of daytime shows.

“Street Court” was developed by Todd Lichten, director of development at Strand. The series concept was originated by Mr. Mazzariello and his managers, Gary I. Rosen and Linda Carrasquillo at RLR Vertigrated Entertainment, who also serve as co-executive producers for the series.

Mr. Mazzariello runs a private legal practice in New York and is a frequent legal contributor for television and radio, appearing as a legal analyst on CNN, MSNBC, tru TV and ABC’s “20/20.” His radio show, “Closing Arguments,” has been airing for six years.

“In each of the thousands of cases Michael’s handled, the key to winning was to captivate the jury,” said Chris Strand, CEO of Strand Communications. “And that’s what we’re going to do here. The most engaging aspect of any court drama is the conflict viewers never get to see inside the studio. If we can physically bring our audience closer to the heart of the dispute and capture that raw emotion, we’ve done our jobs.”

“Court shows are at the point where studios have sliced the genre to the level of sameness that there is no discernable difference between them—and the audience is bored,” said Mr. Morgan. “That said, the genre remains a valuable one for stations and it can be invigorated by bringing new, stimulating elements to the broadcast.”

Litton, meanwhile, continues to broaden its portfolio despite its status as an independent, and “Street Court” represents a return to full first-run strips for the company. Litton’s programs include “Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures,” “Baywatch,” “Cribs,” “Pimp My Ride,” “Storm Stories,” “Date My Mom,” “NASCAR Angels,” “Animal Exploration With Jarod Miller,” and “Businessweek Television.”

Other series in the mix for the 2009 season include “Oprah” spinoff “Dr. Oz” from Sony, “Marie Osmond” from Program Partners, a cooking show featuring Food Network star Paula Deen from Telepictures and a court show featuring former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato from Twentieth Television.
Additional projects being mulled include a daytime version of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,” which is drawing interest, according to sources, from the production arms of Twentieth, Debmar-Mercury and Tribune. Another project being shopped is a daytime talk show produced by Montel Williams, with Robin Givens on deck to host the program.