A new game show will reward winners by paying off their student loans

TruTV is releasing a new game show that has a grand prize of paying off the winner’s student loans.

It’s called “Paid Off”, and it premieres tonight.  It’s a question-and-answer-type show where the contestants are young adults in their late-20s and early-30s, who are saddled with significant student loans.

And instead of prizes, the show will reward winners by paying off their student loans.  It’s unclear how that’ll work, but it sounds like the amount that the winner gets for their debt depends on how well they do.

The producers actually looked into paying off the loans with the creditors directly, but the logistics and tax implications got too complicated.  So, the winners will just get a check like a normal game show.

The game show host Michael Torpey said, “I know what we’re doing is a little ridiculous, but in a way the show matched my family’s story.  The only way we could pay off student loans was because I booked an underwear ad?  That’s insane.”

According to the “Washington Post“, student debt afflicts 44 million Americans, with the average student now carrying $37,000 in loans.  The total amount owed in the U.S. exceeds $1.3 trillion.