
"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.
Family members worry about the well-being of a painter whose home is filled with thousands of nude portraits; an out-of-control hoarder moves his food and television into the bathroom.
A woman turns to hoarding, following her husband's accidental death; a compulsive purchaser sometimes buys back his own auction items.
A woman uses a hefty legal settlement to fund her hoarding obsession; life stinks for a woman who refuses to bathe or take out the trash.
Hospital officials refuse to allow a woman with diabetes to return to her messy home; a woman's filthy home poses a threat to her 6-year-old grandson.