The heartfelt, tear-jerking reality series “The Briefcase” is causing a stir with many who feel as though the show is making fun of America’s poverty-stricken citizens.

The show debuted in May on CBS and garnered over 4 million viewers the first episode. “The Briefcase” is a reality (or documentary) series about struggling families and what they’d do if given $101,000 in cash.  The ticker is that two families are put up against one another to see who has the biggest heart.

The families are given four possible ways at winning the money, which are as follows:

1: Both families elect to keep the entire $101,000, and both families end up with $101,000.

2: Both families elect to give away the entire $101,000, and both families end up with $101,000.

3: Both families elect to give away $50,500, and both families end up with $101,000.

4: After the both families meet up in Los Angeles for the big reveal, they both decide to revoke their previous decisions and mutually split the money evenly.

This sounds pretty legit, right? Unfortunately, there are petitioners who believe CBS is exploiting those who live in poverty. So far, 22,000 people have signed a petition to cancel the show. Petitioners believe the show “mocks the impoverished” and insists that “if CBS really wants to spotlight the hardships of America’s poor, it should donate outright, not exploit their suffering.”

“The Briefcase” executive producer and creator, David Broome, says the show isn’t to put the spotlight on how bad Americans are doing financially. Instead, the series is about sowing seeds and blessing your neighbor.

“It not only provides an opportunity to receive a blessing, but also the opportunity to bless someone else,” says Broome. “The show is so little about the money! That gets you in the door, but then things go from there. If it was all about the money, I’d just give $100,000 to a family and see what they do with it.”

The series airs Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm ET on CBS.

HAVE YOU SEEN “THE BRIEFCASE”? DO YOU THINK IT EXPLOITS STRUGGLING FAMILIES?

 

Source: AP, TheBillfold.com