30 Days (FX, Planet Green)

Documentarian Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) tackles societal issues like poverty, alcoholism, sexuality, religion, illegal immigration, job outsourcing, crime, over-consumption, and abortion for his reality series 30 DAYS. In each episode, Spurlock follows a mostly average American who agrees to take part in a social experiment: Live outside your comfort zone for a month and see what happens. Hence, a conservative straight man from the Midwest moves in with a gay man in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, an atheist bunks with a Christian, a pro-choice believer lives at a pro-life maternity home, two materialistic Manhattanites roll up their sleeves at a sustainable eco-village, and so on. Spurlock even signs himself up for duty, living on minimum wage and behind bars for a month at a time.

Unlike many reality shows, which place people in uncomfortable situations just to incite petty drama and bickering, 30 Days' lifestyle upheaval has a purpose: By putting real-life human faces on controversial topics, the show aims to open participants' minds to all sides of an issue, hopefully bringing them closer to an understanding of how "the other side" lives. Obviously, by its very nature, the show encourages controversy and debate, and many episodes feature shouting matches and angry confrontations. That, combined with the edginess and complexity of the issues themselves, makes the show a better fit for teens -- who will find it eye-opening, no matter what side of a given topic they sympathize with -- than for younger viewers.

The series definitely leans to the left, and not all episodes are as worthwhile as the others -- for example, the ones that dealt with binge drinking and extreme anti-aging procedures came off as fluffy and, especially in the latter case, vain -- but overall 30 Days is mature, thought-provoking television.