Actor Michael Torpey hosts the show, which he co-created with production company Cowboy Bear Ninja.
In a series of trivia rounds, low-scoring contestants are eliminated.
Paid Off is not as fast-paced as it promises, and the canned laughs can be cringeworthy.
But were only one episode into the show.
Have you ever seen the first episode of Wheel of Fortune?
I didnt think so.
The game show is basic in premise, but it underscores the haunting reality of student loan debt.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
Our collective student loan debt is up to $1.4 trillion, in case you lost count.
Anddefaultson those loans are rising at a dramatic rate.
Then he makes each contestant admit how far in the hole they are.
They are all freshly scrubbed twentysomethings with student loan debt as high as $41,000.
They each call out the names of their alma maters in a series of sick burns to tuition rates.
Its awkward on purpose.
Executive producer Michael Melamedoff said that its easy to ignore financial hardship like student debt as someone elses problem.
Its not even a particular Congress member.
Its just a call to the body as a whole.
the sweating contestant mews into the phone.
This time, the exiled contestant is instructed to pass a giant greeting card around the audience.
It says Keep it up!
Those vignettes are symbolic, Melamedoff explained, reminders of the shows overarching call to action.
The game show is an absurd response and maybe the worst response to this crisis, he said.
I dont take it lightly that were making a game show about a real crisis.
We want to allow people to laugh against the grain of a very sobering message, Melamedoff said.
The audience member takes home $1,000.
He said that the show gave out close to $500,000 over the seasons 16 episodes.
Its Melamedoffs takeaway behind the scenes, too.
Now, like a jaded teenager making a Christmas list, were just asking for cash.
This is how far down we are, how desperate we are.
yo just give us the cash.Compounding interesthas made us weary.
Half a million down, $1,399,999,500,000 to go.
Lisa Rowan (@lisatella) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…