Dive Brief:

• Sunday night, the Spike TV network will launch a new reality series with the unambiguous and, it hopes, somewhat ominous title "Catch a Contractor."
• Each episode will use a "sting house" to lure a contractor who the show's producers believe has done shoddy work for a client or left a job unfinished. The premise is that the contractor is coming to set up another victim.
• The show's crew – a comedian, radio personality, and former carpenter named Adam Carolla; a general contractor named Skip Bedell; and his wife, private investigator Alison Bedell – give the contractor options of fixing the job, giving back money, or having the show help the client take him to court.

Dive Insight:

Part of the show's goal is to educate consumers, host Carolla says. People need to understand that some deals are too good to be true and that paying a majority of the money up front is unwise. Carolla compares low-ball bids for big projects like a multi-room renovation to paying $1.95 for a surf-and-turf meal: "Come on, how do you think this will turn out?"