The second revival ran for nine seasons from 1984 to 1993, with retired Supreme Court of California judge William B. Keene as the presiding jurist.

The current incarnation of Divorce Court premiered on August 30, 1999, and has transitioned between multiple judges: former Los Angeles prosecuting attorney, Mablean Ephriam (1999–2006); former Cleveland Heights municipal court judge, Lynn Toler (2006–2020); former New York City prosecutor, Faith Jenkins (2020–2022); and former New York City prosecutor, district attorney, and former View co-host Star Jones (2022–present).

Each episode followed a basic formula, as follows: The first Divorce Court incarnation began airing in 1957 and ran for five seasons until 1962, to be revived in 1967 for an additional two-season run.

In its first year, Divorce Court aired locally in Los Angeles on independent station KTTV as a weekly, live, one-hour program.

The judge's decision includes finding in favor of one of the litigants (or, more often than not, declaring a joint decree) and resolving issues such as alimony and asset division.

Occasionally, the show revisits a case from a past episode where time to explore reconciliation was offered in order to determine if the delay either remedied or worsened the marriage.

When the current version of Divorce Court was resurrected for a 17th season in the fall of 1999, former Los Angeles Prosecuting Attorney Mablean Ephriam was featured as the show's presiding judge.

"[3] During her seven-year judgeship over the program, Mablean was known for her quirky voice and expressions, and reactions of amusement, shock and appall over the accounts of outrageous behavior by the litigants.

[5] Toler would eventually become Divorce Court's longest reigning judge—not only over the current edition of the program—but the overall 40-year-old series as a whole, presiding over the broadcast for 14 seasons.

Toler added that behind-the-scenes altercations between her and Divorce Court producers over production moves were commonplace throughout her final season with the program.

[14] Describing her judicial approach, Jones referred to herself as "Judge Star" and stated while finger snapping, "Honey, Divorce Court is lit this season".

[13] Jones has communicated her intentions to bring legitimate solutions and resources to troubled relationships, along with deep empathy as well as her dynamic personality.

[13] Bringing an extensive law background to the bench, Jones served for years as a New York prosecutor, and later, as senior assistant district attorney.

She has appeared on Today, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, CNN, Court TV, TruTV, and Inside Edition as a legal correspondent.