The maker of a controversial reality television series billed as “Australia’s next social experiment” has denied it is “poverty porn”.

The Briefcase, which premieres on Channel Nine on Monday, presents two struggling families with $100,000 in cash. They must decide how much to keep and how much to give away.

Neither is aware that the other is faced with the same dilemma until they meet for the first time at the end of the episode to reveal their decision.

Channel Nine has made six episodes of the show, which it says puts the question of whether it is better to give than to receive.

It is adapted from an American show of the same name, devised by Dave Broome, the creator of The Biggest Loser, which screened on CBS last year to largely negative reviews, many of which accused the program of exploiting poor families for viewers’ entertainment.

Nine’s program has faced the same criticism.

Fairfax’s entertainment reporter Michael Lallo blasted The Briefcase as “appalling”.

“Poor people are not the playthings of a TV producer,” he wrote.

Last year SBS faced similar criticism over its documentary Struggle Street, which focused on the lives of people in the western Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt.

But Andrew Backwell, managing director of programming and production for the Nine Network, said the Australian version of The Briefcase was fundamentally different from its US counterpart.

He said the US show was cast with a view to creating maximum conflict – in one episode, a conservative Republican was asked to decide how much money to give to an interracial lesbian couple.

Backwell said that approach asked participants to judge others’ lifestyles or beliefs.

“We were careful to cast families that other Australians will relate to: middle-class families that have fallen on hard times, through no fault of their own ... We wanted to find really deserving families, where this could really help them and their situation.”

Participants were identified by researchers as part of a normal casting process and asked to share their stories of how they make ends meet. When the briefcase of $100,000 cash lands on their doorstep, it is a total surprise.

Backwell said all 12 families to feature in the Australian series felt positively about the experience, and seemed bewildered by criticisms that the show was exploitative.

Participants had the opportunity to walk away at any time, he said.

“But why would they walk away?

“None of the participants feel they’ve been exploited. In fact every one has said it’s been an incredible experience, that it changed their lives.”

He said Channel Nine had given away $1.2m to families that were “desperately” in need of it through the program, and there was no coercion behind the scenes.

“Not one episode has the same result, which is just the way it played out … The [money] was theirs 100%. We weren’t going to take it back … They made the decision by themselves.”

Backwell hoped that the “incredible acts of generosity” facilitated by the show would spark debate among viewers.

“What I hope is that when families watch this at home, they have a discussion: ‘How much would you keep, how much would you give away?’

“Someone doesn’t have to give you $100,000 for you to think about do you care about others in society … I think that’s a positive debate to have.”

Asked whether the show framed the solution to disadvantage as individual acts of charity, Backwell said social security could not be expected in all circumstances.

“I’m certainly not hiding from the fact it’s a controversial show. There are people that have been outraged. But most haven’t seen the show … we’ve made it, I believe, a heartwarming show.”

He said there were no plans to extend the show beyond six episodes.

“I don’t think we could do a season two. Once people understand the premise of the show, you won’t get the reaction.”

• The Briefcase premieres on Channel Nine at 7.30pm on Monday