In Debt is a South African docu-reality television series produced by Ochre Moving Pictures which takes ordinary people through a rigorous debt relief programme and sets them on the road to recovery through counselling and advice from a professional debt counsellor.
The series premiered on SABC1 on Saturday 10 December 2011, at 17h30. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on SABC1 on Tuesday 4 February 2014, at 21h30. Thereafter new episodes broadcast weekly at 21h00. There are 13 episodes in the second season.
Synopsis
South Africans are drowning in debt. There are 18.3m credit-active consumers in South Africa with an average of 3 accounts each – 8.6m of them missed more than 2 instalments.
Currently about 5,000 cars are being repossessed monthly and South Africans spend about 78 cents of every R1 to service their debt (up from 48 cent in 2003).
These are shocking statistics, but there's good news!
Ochre Moving Pictures is producing In Debt, a docu-reality series that probes the underbelly of the nation's chronic debt problem. The show takes ordinary people through a rigorous debt relief programme and sets them on the road to recovery.
Move over Supernanny, here comes the Debt Doctor!
Each episode of In Debt features a character with a desperate financial problem that threatens their future. The Debt Doctor gives them tasks to help fight their debt – and the creditors from repossessing their stuff.
From spending cuts to negotiating with banks, sometimes the methods are ruthless. But this is not a game for sissies. When you are about to lose everything – you need to use extreme measures.
The series premiered in December 2011 at a time when South Africans traditionally splash out with their end of year bonuses. Let's hope they take heed...
"Don't let debt get the better of you, get the better of debt."
Seasons
Series exclusive to SABC1
Season 1 (10 episodes)
Premiere: 10 December 2011 | Finale: 11 February 2012 | Saturdays, 17h30
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 4 February 2014 | Finale: 29 April 2014 | Tuesdays, 21h00