A&E's 2009 Emmy® Award-winner for Outstanding Reality Program "Intervention" and critically lauded "Obsessed" return for all-new seasons with back-to-back premieres on Monday, June 28 at 9:00 PM ET/PT and 10:00PM ET/PT.
In a series first, the ninth season premiere of "Intervention" will feature an intervention on two generations of the same family. Raised by alcoholic parents, Donna, a mother of 47, was exposed to violence and abuse at an early age, and later drank so heavily that she lost custody of her two children. Josh, now 20, has moved back in with Donna, and they have become drinking buddies. Both mother and son need help to stop the cycle of alcoholism from being passed down to another generation of their family.
Twice nominated and last year awarded the Emmy® for Outstanding Reality Series, the five-time PRISM Award-winning series "Intervention" profiles people whose dependence on drugs and alcohol or other compulsive behavior has brought them to a point of personal crisis or estranged them from their friends and loved ones. Each episode ends with a surprise intervention that is staged by the family and friends of the addict, and which is conducted by one of two specialists: Jeff Van Vonderen and Candy Finnigan. Exclusive updated interviews with past subjects from the series first eight seasons are available on AETV.com/intervention.
The series has conducted 161 interventions since its premiere in March of 2005, 130 individuals are currently sober.
The second season of "Obsessed," will feature some of the most compelling stories to date including: a father of two whose overwhelming obsession with odd numbers has left him jobless, living out of his car and unable to function on odd numbered days; a father and his two grown daughters who suffer from agoraphobia and who are all attempting to break the family "curse" which prevents them from being able to venture more than a few miles from the safety of their homes; a musician whose life is completely consumed by hand motion rituals that can take up to 10 hours to complete; a recovered alcoholic whose fear of contamination is so extreme that he washes his hands up to 150 times a day and lives in fear that another alcoholic will contaminate him and cause him to return to drinking; and a young budding artist who believes that her checking, tapping and counting rituals are currently keeping her mother from dying of cancer.
"Obsessed" takes viewers inside the minds and lives of Americans whose anxiety has taken complete command of their existence. Individuals whose loved ones have witnessed the disorder take them prisoner, living at the mercy of their uncontrollable thoughts and ritualistic behaviors. From OCD, to agoraphobia and germophobia, these disorders trigger from an emotionally traumatic event and eventually snowball until the individual is a shadow of their former self. The series documents both their afflictions and their courageous attempts to defeat and overcome them. Highly trained therapists use desensitatization and exposure therapy, whereby the patients are increasingly exposed to what causes their anxiety until the feelings begin to fade. Viewers will be moved as patients heal, make amazing progress and slowly but surely, take their lives back.
Inspired by the incredible response from viewers, individuals and families in recovery to "Intervention," A&E Network along with leading federal agencies and non-profit organizations launched The Recovery Project. The multi-year, multi-platform initiative was designed to help raise awareness that addiction is a treatable disease and recovery is possible. This past September more than 10,000 people, including individuals and families in recovery, treatment partners and advocates from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, gathered in New York City for a historic walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to symbolize unity and hope for recovery. The walk ended in Cadman Plaza and was followed by a rally featuring public speakers and a performance by Smokey Robinson.
A&E continues to co-host, along with the Partnership for a Drug Free America (PDFA), and leading MSOs such as Time Warner Cable, Cox and Comcast, Intervention Town Hall meetings in cities across the country. The Town Hall meetings offer opportunities for parents, teens, addicts, government officials, health professionals, substance abuse prevention experts and educators to develop a better understanding about the root causes and consequences of addiction.
"Intervention" is produced by GRB Productions for A&E Network. Gary Benz, Michael Branton, Dan Partland and Sam Mettler are executive producers. A&E executive producers are Robert Sharenow and Colleen Conway.
"Obsessed" is produced by Tijuana Entertainment for A&E Network. Troy Searer, John Foy and Rob LaPlante are executive producers. A&E executive producers are Robert Sharenow, Scott Lonker and Jordana Hochman.
