''Hoarders'' is an American documentary reality television series that debuted on A&E on August 17, 2009. The show depicts the real-life struggles and treatment of people who suffer from compulsive hoarding disorder. The series concluded its original run on February 4, 2013, after six seasons. Over a year after the program's original cancellation in 2013,

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

began airing a series of weekly "Update" episodes on June 2, 2014. Each "Update" episode presented an episode from earlier seasons, ending with a present-day visit to a featured hoarder by the therapist or organizer who worked with them. Interviews with the hoarder and their family reveal how their lives have progressed since their first appearance on the show. This led to the production of a seventh season, ''Hoarders: Family Secrets'', which aired on Lifetime from May 28, 2015, to July 30, 2015. The program returned to A&E for subsequent seasons beginning with season eight on January 3, 2016. "Update" episodes continue to run between seasons under the titles ''Hoarders: Where Are They Now?'', ''Hoarders: Then & Now'' or ''Hoarders: Overload''. The eleventh season premiered on July 20, 2020. A twelfth season premiered on March 22, 2021.

Overview

Concept

Each 60-minute episode profiles one or two

interventions ''Interventions'' is a book by Noam Chomsky, an American academic linguist and political activist. Published in May 2007, ''Interventions'' is a collection of 44 op-ed articles, post-9/11, from September 2002, through March 2007. The book's sub ...

. During most of the first season, the hoarder worked with either a psychiatrist/psychologist, a professional organizer, or an "extreme cleaning specialist," each of whom specialized in some aspect involving the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorders, anxiety disorders, and/or hoarding. A crew of professional cleaners (usually a local franchise of the series' major corporate sponsor) performed the actual cleanups. Two episodes in the first season featured a cleanup with both a psychologist ''and'' an organizer: Jill (episode "Jennifer and Ron/Jill") and Patty (episode "Patty/Bill"). From season 2 onward, all hoarders were given a psychologist and an organizer. The final episode of the first season, "Paul/Missy and Alex", featured professional organizer Geralin Thomas, CPO-CD, working with Missy, while a child psychologist, Dr. David Dia, worked with Missy's seven-year-old son Alex. Beginning in the second season, each hoarder had a psychologist-plus-organizer/cleaning specialist team assisting them. This specialist combination leads a group of cleaning professionals, family, friends, and relatives of the hoarder in conducting a two- to three-day decluttering session. In most instances, a crisis prompted the intervention, such as a threat of eviction or the removal of minor children from the home. At the end of each episode, on-screen text indicates the short-term outcome of the cleanup effort, including the subjects' decisions on whether to seek further assistance from organizers and/or therapists. The show provides six months of aftercare funds to pay these professionals and, occasionally, to carry out vital repairs to the home. Beginning with the season nine finale, episodes were expanded to two hours and focused on a single hoarder. Each of the "Update" episodes revisits hoarders from previous episodes, showing clips from their original appearances followed by newer footage detailing the progress they have made.

Hoarding disorder

With the release of the

DSM-5 The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric ...

in 2013, hoarding was classified as a separate disorder. During the show's original run, hoarding behaviors were considered symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Hoarding does show links to obsessive and compulsive behaviors; however, it also shows connections to

major depressive disorder Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

as well as

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

(ADHD). The role of documentary shows like ''Hoarders'' in this change of classification is unclear. However, some believe the rise in awareness caused by such shows was a significant contributing factor. When hoarding became a buzzword, it "commanded a significant amount of professional…attention".

Episodes

Contributors

A number of board-licensed therapists, psychologists, and professional organizers have contributed to the show as on-air personalities. Recurring cast members are as follows:

Therapists

Organizers

Reception

At the time of its premiere, ''Hoarders'' was the most-watched series premiere in A&E network history among adults aged 18–49 and tied for the most ever in the adults aged 25–54 demographic. The premiere was watched by 2.5 million viewers: 1.8 million adults aged 18–49. In 2011, ''Hoarders'' won a Critics' Choice Award, in a tie with '' The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'', for best reality series.

References

External links

* * {{Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Reality Series 2009 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings 2000s American reality television series 2010s American reality television series 2020s American reality television series 2000s American documentary television series 2010s American documentary television series 2020s American documentary television series A&E (TV network) original programming English-language television shows Compulsive hoarding