https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM5ZGy-LCOs
The student debt relief game show Paid Off aims to help contestants get out from under their crippling educational debt, and with little movement in debt policy and college thrusting more people into the red it’s no surprise that the TruTV show is sticking around for a bit longer.
Deadline reported on Wednesday that it’s picking up 16 more episodes of the trivia game show that pits three former students deep in student loan against one another with the prize being a clean slate.
The concept of Paid Off drew a lot of social media furor when it debuted earlier in the year, but watching the show itself makes it clear that the makers of the game show are just as frustrated about the dystopian reality of crippling student loan debt in America as the contestants trying to escape from it.
Those that don’t win are given a chance to tell off politicians not doing enough to remedy the situation and debt companies profiteering off economic gridlock, which isn’t much consolation or relief but at least reinforces the notion that Paid Off isn’t a mashup of Idiocracy and The Running Man as much as a cheeky release of frustration about the current state of things.
Host Michael Torpey reinforced that much in his statement about TruTV picking up another 16 episodes of the show, as reported by Deadline on Wednesday.
“I am so thrilled/horrified that the national embarrassment that is the need for this ridiculous game show will continue for another 16 episodes,” Torpey said. “I truly hope the show won’t have to exist for long, but until real reform comes to higher education I will continue to highlight the stories of the 45 million Americans affected and give away as much money as possible to as many people as possible.”
At the very least Torpey and TruTV are in on the joke here, which makes the show new episodes on Tuesday nights well into the fall a bit more palatable.
(via Deadline)
