Hoarders returned with a new season Sunday, and it was back on its original network, A&E. For season eight, the reality show also discarded some unnecessary junk: its short-lived subtitle, “Family Secrets,” which the show had during its 10-episode run on Lifetime last year.
Two episodes will air every Sunday night. The first episode that aired Jan. 3 followed just one story, but was back to its original format—no sleepovers in the hoard, no live segments, just a team of family members and experts confronting mental illness. It was not a happy ending, but it was an excellent illustration of why the series is one of television’s best. The second episode followed two hoarders, back to the show’s original format.
Hoarders‘ return to A&E means that, in three years, the show has switched networks twice, and also changed its name twice. Curiously, A&E brought back the show with virtually no fanfare, announcement, or promotion. There was no press release; the network’s press web site doesn’t even have Hoarders listed as an A&E show.
Here’s a brief rundown of the show’s history:
- 2009 to 2013: the show airs six seasons on A&E
- fall 2013: word comes that A&E has cancelled the show
- March 2014: success of reruns on A&E sibling network Lifetime leads to production of a follow-up episode
- June 2014: the follow-up episode airs, and five previous episodes get new update segments at the end
- February 2015: the show went back into production for episodes on Lifetime
- May 2015: Hoarders returns on Lifetime, but with a huge misfire of a live episode
- summer 2015: nine additional episodes air on Lifetime
- January 2016: Hoarders returns to A&E
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