Hoarders (A&E)

Each episode of HOARDERS follows two people whose lives have been overcome by their compulsive inability to let go of their belongings. Interviews with the hoarders, their families, and their friends reveal the physical and emotional impact the disorder is having on their lives. Faced with serious problems like losing custody of their children and being evicted, each hoarder attempts to master their symptoms by working with a professional and allowing people to come in and clean out their homes in order to give them a chance to gain some control over their life.

While not as intense as similar series like Intervention and Obsessed, the series underscores the seriousness of this disorder and the different degrees to which people can suffer from it. It also sheds light on some of the reasons that people don't get help, which range from feeling humiliated about their inability to control their symptoms to being in complete denial about their problem.

While the show highlights how difficult it is to live with compulsive hoarding disorder, it fails to offer any in-depth information about what can potentially cause it -- or the various ways that people can be treated after an initial intervention. Meanwhile, the show's images of extremely filthy, vermin-filled homes can take on a sensationalist quality. But in the end, the series succeeds in informing the public about how widespread this disorder is in America -- and detailing the heartbreak that can result from it.