
"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 woman and her husband are facing imminent foreclosure on two houses as a result of her hoarding; a woman is forced to clean up her life or risk losing her boyfriend.

A woman's hoarding has taken over her house and resulted in her children being removed by the authorities; a woman issues an ultimatum to her partner after tripping over a pile of his stuff and breaking her arm.

A man is charged with criminal littering because his two-acre property is strewn with junk cars, scrap metal and old appliances; a mother tries to change her ways after her 7-year-old son starts to exhibit hoarding.

The stench of a house's trash heap migrates to the street; a hoarder faces jail time.