Network: CBS
Episodes: Six (hour)
Seasons: One
TV show dates: May 27, 2015 — June 26, 2015
Series status: Cancelled
Performers include: (none)
TV show description:
On each episode of this reality series, two families are faced with a decision that could potentially alter their lives forever.
Hard-working American families who’ve been experiencing financial hard times are presented with a briefcase that contains a very large sum of money — $101,000. They must then make a difficult decision — do they keep all of the money for themselves, or do they give all or part of it to another family in need?
They have 72 hours to learn about the other family’s challenging circumstances and make their choice. What they don’t know is that the other family has received an identical briefcase with the same instructions. Each episode culminates with the reveal of each family’s decisions and viewers are then given an update on how the experience and/or the money has changed their lives.
Series Finale:
Episode #6 — Moyas/Vendely-Salgados
The Moya Family: Gabe is and insurance agent and wife Krystal is a stay at home mom. They have six children under the age of 10 and are high school sweethearts whose lives revolve around faith and family. The Moya’s finances hit rock bottom in 2009, but through all the hard times, they remain positive, feel blessed, and are determined to raise their children with strong faith.
The Vendely-Salgado Family: Amari is unemployed and Natalie is a medical assistant. They have three children, all seven and under. Amari and Natalie’s financial situation hit a rough patch when Natalie was laid off from her position as a medical assistant. She has since found another job, but the time unemployed in-between jobs took a toll on the family. In addition there will be extra expenses for Amari’s transition. He was born female, but after giving birth to two children and living as a woman for most of her adult life, he now lives as a man.
In the end, the Moyas give away $10k (keeping $91k) and the Vendely-Salgados give away $15k (keeping $86k).
First aired: June 26, 2015.
I liked it
I think the show is good but there are several things wrong with the show. The people you give the money to aren’t really seam poor and don’t look like need a helping hand. Plus they have beautiful homes etc. Also the people who are elected ae always in the west or mid west of the US. No one seems to know how contestants are chosen. Puzzling
Please renew it. We need to see more kindness in our society, poverty is a reality. It would be nice to see what the rich ie: professional sports players do for their communities. Some great stories.
This show is disgusting. Why not have people with a lot of money trying to decide where to donate money for a good cause. People in poverty or without much money are frequently taken advantage of.
It’s really not. What’s disgusting is families like this get no help from family, friends, the government, their communities, or even the charities that CLAIM to help. At least this show HELPED people who needed it. Please read my comment when it’s posted (awaiting moderation). Maybe then you’ll see why it’s absolutely NOT disgusting in any way.
I really like the show and would like to see it renewed. There are so many families that are struggling and could benefit from being one of the contestants on this show. This show provides all realities of life, the struggles of making a decision, how much to help yourself and how to help others while you are struggling yourself. One of the shows was a little disappointing with the ending results but for the most part the couples have made decisions that was close enough for disbursement of monies. For those of us that are not in the situation… Read more »
Copy of Time Magazine article by Jason Miller. Why The Briefcase Is the Worst Reality TV Show Ever. CBS’s new show The Briefcase takes advantage of desperate people and calls it entertainmentThe most extreme example of this aired its first episode two weeks ago on CBS. The Briefcase features financially struggling American families and showcases their many hardships. These are men and women who are down on their luck, out of work, and seem miserable. The premise of the show is that they are surprised with a gift of $101,000. Of course, there are strings attached. This summer marks a… Read more »
Because while this article does make great points, the fact of the matter is, they were still helping people that had no option or hope of ever being helped like that. They STILL made an enormous difference in all those families lives. Bottom line is, now no lives will be changed. And to me, that’s not better than an “exploitive” tv show that actually helps people.
This show is the worst show yet to be aired by any network. I honestly can’t believe that so many people think this is a good show. I watched only one episode where a Texas family , and their Trailer Trash sister got almost all of the money. They where so “Christian” and had planned to give a considerable amount to the other family until they found out it was a lesbian couple that was going to receive the money. I hope these hypocrites take their money and move from Texas. As a Texan, I am ashamed for them. I’ve… Read more »
Love this show! Please renew it!
renew it a good show i like it i will watch it becouse its life henging for fameily in need and the what we need to get bye our live we hav given for us please renew
We watch a lot of tv, this show moves my husband and I to tears, makes us ponder the decisions made and we try to get our friends/family to watch. I can’t think of another show that we do that for. We are huge fans. Keep up the fantastic work.
I love this show! It makes me cry. I know they’re are good people out there!
Good family show teaching a few moral lesson . If renewed I will watch it.
This show teaches greed and hatred, not morals. It is a mind game and psychologically damaging to “Real” people with money issue and it basically pits poor people against other poor people making both families feel guilty if they keep the money. If this is “Good family entertainment ” to you, then I don’t even want to know what you think is bad family entertainment.
The show should be renewed. It’s a good and heartwarming show.
I LOVE this show. It really gives me a renewed hope in mankind – ALL mankind, no matter ethnicity, gender, economic status, family size, etc…. You see the initial reaction and wonder how you would react (wow! its all mine! and stick a bill to your forehead OR immediately think of giving it away to help someone else). Then you see the things people take into consideration… housing, communities, medical, children, families, personal beliefs and feelings, faith, understanding of “right” and “wrong”, hopes, dreams, futures… then you see how they came to the final decisions. It is truly an awesome… Read more »
I really like the briefcase. It’s something fresh and original which we’ve been needing for a long time now. I like how the couples have to make these decisions totally unbeknown to the other couple, and how their choices change during the 48-72 hour period.
I’ve yet to be disappointed!
Thank you
Yes it should be renewed, but what about families where it’s a single parent struggling?