Spike TV just announced a recession-era game show from the producers of Jersey Shore. Titled Repo Games, the show follows two real-life repo men who give debtors one last chance to keep their cars by playing in a quiz show.
They’re asked five questions, and if they get three answers correct, the car will be paid off on the spot. Answer wrong, the car is towed to the impound lot. It’s “Cops meets Jeopardy,” says the network.
But isn’t there something depressing about playing a game show to keep your own car? Imagine this idea being done with, say, a home under foreclosure. Same concept yet feels very different, right? Kids crying, Sheriffs Department waiting to change the locks, while some poor bastard tries to remember the capital of Bolivia.*
Spike says the show will have a “fun tone,” similar to Discovery’s Cash Cab, and notes the contestants will come from all walks of life (read: not just poor people), noting that even celebrities like Paris Hilton have had their cars repo’d.
Anyway, Spike has also picked up another reality show, Bar Rescue, which is basically Kitchen Nightmares but with bars instead of restaurants and with a guy named Jon Taffer instead of Gordon Ramsay.
“The guys featured on ‘Bar Rescue’ and ‘Repo Games’ share that same authentic, real-life persona that will resonate with Spike’s expanding audience,” says Spike programming head Sharon Levy. “We are thrilled to partner with the incredibly creative production teams that developed The Jersey Shore** and The Biggest Loser to bring these unique concepts to life.”
Spike has 20 episodes of Repo Games and 10 episodes of Bar Rescue coming down the pipe later this year…
Anybody else google the capital of Bolivia just in case you ever need to know it?
I’m really curious how few will actually get their cars paid off. After watching a few episodes of that repo show with the fat guy from Sopranos I’m pretty sure the typical repo’d vehicle owner isn’t smart enough to to get 3 out of 5 trivia questions right, unless they are celebrity jeopardy type questions. “What is light urple?”
bump! watching this now, hilarious
“what country is the kimono from?”
“That’s easy! Dallas!”
Fakest show evar! It seems like new “reality” shows try to be faker than the last.
I fucking hate this show. I used to be into the repo shows, one was on discovery/tlc/history and was a bigger black dude and a tatt’d white guy with a beard. It seemed authentic.
Lately though, if been watching American Pickers, Storage Wars, Pawn Stars, Hardcore Pawn.
I’m waiting for a real-life version of “The Running Man”.
no i have a job instead
Lol!
Watched a cpl episodes over the weekend. It’s as much bad acting and scripted freakouts as Trick My Truck on CMT. I loved how the 6 black guys and 1 white girl said they weren’t gonna let him leave with their beat ass eclipse because they were gonna jump him and beat him if they did. lol I did feel bad for the old guy who lost his Buick though, dude didn’t get a single question right lol
Not to mention the questions they ask are super easy. Out of 4 of the people I watched, all 4 kept their cars.