Is TruTV going to solve student debt? No, don’t be silly. But one lucky contestant will get their student loans paid off by the network Tuesday night.
The network will debut its new game show “Paid Off” Tuesday at 10 p.m., which will see three college grads get a chance at winning their freedom from student debt. The show is hosted by “Orange Is the New Black’s” Michael Torpey (he’s also starred in a bunch of commercials for Chase and Hanes, alongside Michael Jordan). “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” alum Leigh Hampton serves as showrunner.
If the idea of a game show to help people pay off what is a serious real-world issue for many sounds ridiculous, Torpey agrees.
“One of the mantras is ‘an absurd show to match an absurd crisis,’ ” said Torpey in an interview with The Washington Post. “A game show feels really apt because this is the state of things right now.”
“Paid Off” works like any other traditional game show: Three contestants battle each other to answer trivia questions, all with an education or college theme, such as “What’s the Most Romantic Date You Can Have for Under $10?” (watch in the video above).
This may sound obvious, but contestants must be carrying college debt to appear on the show, some of which can run as high as $50,000. The exact amount that TruTV pays is determined by how many questions the winner asks in the final speed round. This is a game show after all.
“Paid Off” will run for 16 episodes this summer. The series is co-created by Torpey and Cowboy Bear Ninja, who also produces. Michael Melamedoff and Adrian Selkowitz serve as executive producers for Cowboy Bear Ninja alongside executive producers Torpey, Hampton and Ethan Berlin.