''Big Spender'' is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series on the

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...

. Host Larry Winget visits people in financial crisis, then advises them how to solve the problems and avoid repeating the same mistakes. The show is produced by

NorthSouth Productions NorthSouth Productions is a television production company in the United States that was founded by Charlie DeBevoise and Mark Hickman in 2000. NorthSouth creates and produces original programming for a variety of broadcast and cable networks incl ...

and premiered in July 2006.Helen Huntley
"Are you a big spender? Watch this, feel better,"
''St. Petersburg Times,'' July 16, 2006 All episodes show: * Winget visiting the individual(s) in crisis and assessing the situation * An analysis of the elements in the financial crisis (e.g., consumer debt, overspending) * A "contract" of required changes, which the individual(s) must discuss and sign * Scenes of the individual(s) following or departing from the agreed-upon changes * A return visit from Winget to examine whether the recommended changes were made A writer for ''

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'' described Winget's style as "blunt" and "quite funny." Discussing ''Big Spender,'' the writer noted, "Every Saturday night, he can be seen berating people who make lousy financial choices."Randy Cordov
Larry Winget gets real: Midlife crisis turns motivational speaker into national star
''The Arizona Republic,'' February 15, 2007 Another reviewer lauded the educational information, but said Winget "uses a form of tough love that is verbally harsh, caustic, and confrontational" and expressed the opinion that psychological counseling was a missing element from the show.Pam Gelman

Common Sense Media (undated) Winget has commented on the difficulty of finding participants willing to expose their financial difficulties on national television. The first season's participants all were drawn from the

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area, but producers planned to recruit nationally for the second season. The show lasted only one season.

References

External links

* A&E (TV network) original programming 2000s American reality television series 2006 American television series debuts English-language television shows 2006 American television series endings {{US-reality-tv-stub