NEW YORK: On Monday, the day after Christmas, TLC's cameras were cruising Forever 21, Lane Bryant and GameStop stores in Florida and California for an episode of recession-era entertainment: " Extreme Couponing."
At this penny-pinching moment in American history, this reality show about moms (and a few dads) who compulsively clip coupons and stockpile free stuff is a breakout hit for TLC, the cable channel formerly best known for Kate Gosselin. So the channel is trying to make the most of it, filming holiday specials and conceiving two spinoffs that will be shown this week.
The first, "Extreme Couponing: All-Stars," is a series that has its premiere on Tuesday, about people competing to save the most money on their groceries. The second, " Extreme Cheapskates," is a special on Wednesday, about people who barter, dumpster-dive and forage for free goods and services. If the special receives good ratings, it too could become a series.
"We feel like we've identified a brand-new genre, which is 'found money,"' said Amy Winter, the general manager of TLC.
As mundane as it may seem, watching "Extreme Couponing" can be addicting, just like couponing. Viewers root for the shoppers, whose stories of economic hardship and shopping salvation are told in 15-minute increments.
"It's doing two things at once," said Matt Sharp, an executive producer. "It's tapping into the unbelievable, yet it's also relatable."
Almost everyone goes to the supermarket, but almost no one takes home $600 worth of groceries for a nickel. Yet it's an appealing idea, especially at a time of high unemployment and consumer malaise.
"If you had put this show on before the economy took that downturn, I'm not sure that it would have resonated the way that it did," Winter said.
The show's formation follows the recent timeline of the economy. After the financial crisis in 2008, as households cut back on spending, a few television stations and newspapers ran features about fanatical coupon cutters. Some were professionals, like Susan Samtur, who had been writing books and articles about couponing for decades and whose pointers were suddenly back in vogue.
"Her weekly grocery bill you'll have to see to believe," said Kris Van Cleave of WJLA, a Washington-area TV station, when he interviewed Samtur in April 2009. With her coupons and rebates filed by category, she saved $144.11 on a trip with Van Cleave, paying just $9.43 for a week's worth of groceries. CNN picked up the WJLA report, and Sharp sent the video to a colleague at his production company, Sharp Entertainment. "There's a show here," Sharp wrote in an email. "Something in EXTREME CHEAPLIVING."
The idea percolated, and in 2010 there were other news reports that "further piqued our interest," he said in an interview. An article in The Wall Street Journal that Marchcalled coupon clipping "the newest extreme sport." ABC's "Nightline" pitted two shoppers against each other in an "extreme couponing" competition.
"The last time I purchased toilet paper at the store was in 2007," Nathan Engels, a founder of a couponing website, boasted on "Nightline."
TLC ordered one hour of "Extreme Couponing" from Sharp's company and showed it at the end of December last year.
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