
"Hoarders" is an often painful look inside a disease that can bury its sufferer -- literally at times -- in its symptoms. Each hourlong episode profiles two people on the verge of a personal crisis, all caused by the fact that they are unable to part with even the tiniest possessions, and the cumulative effect becomes a mountain of junk and garbage overtaking their home or apartment. If they don't respond to professional help, the consequences sometimes involve eviction, kids being taken away, or even jail time.

A hoarder loses his four young grandchildren to Child Protective Services and can't get them back until he cleans up his act; a thrice-divorced woman fills up three homes with clutter.

An armed thief breaks into the home of a woman who collects cars and electronics, threatening her mother and stealing some of her stash; the son of a Nazi SS member lives with his dog in a clutter-stuffed home.

A woman has more than 30 sickly cats; a teacher's hoard has already cost her a job.

A hoarding woman may lose her daughter; a groom never moved in to his wife's cluttered house.