The show depicts the real-life struggles and treatment of people who suffer from compulsive hoarding disorder.

[2] Over a year after the program's original cancellation in 2013, Lifetime began airing a series of weekly "Update" episodes on June 2, 2014.

A crew of professional cleaners (usually a local franchise of the series' major corporate sponsor) performed the actual cleanups.

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.

[citation needed] 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.

[15] In 2011, Hoarders won a Critics' Choice Award, in a tie with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, for best reality series.