A&E’s formidable reality series Intervention will come to its end after being on air for 13 seasons. The final five episodes will air starting June 13. To this day, 156 people featured on the series continue to live sober lives.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes David McKillop, executive vice president of programming at A&E and Biography as having said, “As Intervention comes to an end, we’re proud to have paved the way for such an original and groundbreaking series.” The show has won one Emmy for outstanding reality series in 2009.
Intervention followed the day-to-day life of addicts, who believed the show was simply a documentary about addiction. The actual interventions were meant to come as surprises for the featured individual, which did not always work out as planned.
The show was famous for its intense, realistic accounts of substance abuse and how it can affect both the addict as well as the addict’s family and friends in negative ways. The psychology behind the interventions held on the series would delve deep into the addict’s past, exploring from where the addiction may have stemmed. This introspective look gave audiences an alternative view of the addict, showing how succumbing to drug use can be easily influenced by incredibly distressful actions. On the other hand, some critics have said Intervention exploited the individuals featured, reports the LA Times.
The series would feature interventions held by addiction specialists Jeff Van Vonderen, Candy Finnigan, Donna Chavous and Ken Seeley. According to TV Guide, each of the specialists will be returning for the final season, which has said to be “one of the most difficult and dramatic episodes in the series’ history.”