# Intervention (2005)

> Families stage a confrontation with a loved one whose addiction has reached the brink, offering a path into rehab.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/10374

## Facts

- Seasons: 25
- Episodes: 344
- Episode runtime: 43 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: documentary, reality
- Created by: Sam Mettler, Rob Sharenow
- Network: A&E
- Cast: Jeff VanVonderen, Candy Finnigan, Ken Seeley, Donna Chavous, Maureen Brine
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450920/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: raw, candid, tense, heartbreaking, hopeful

## Synopsis

Intervention (2005-present) is an American reality docuseries created by Sam Mettler and Rob Sharenow for A&E. Each episode follows a person whose drug, alcohol, or compulsive behavior has devastated loved ones, and the camera tracks the planned confrontation staged by family and friends with interventionists Jeff VanVonderen, Candy Finnigan, Ken Seeley, Donna Chavous, and Maureen Brine guiding the process. The engine is simple and painful: a family must persuade a resistant addict to accept treatment before the damage becomes irreversible, and each hour is built from the confrontation itself, the subject's defenses breaking down, and the logistics of getting them into rehab. Across twenty-five seasons and more than three hundred episodes, the format stays self-contained, each story a standalone case rather than one continuing arc. The register is raw, candid, and often heartbreaking, with long stretches of tense family dialogue and quiet moments of recognition. Its atmosphere is intimate and unvarnished, closer to a documentary record than to dramatized television. Fans of Hoarders, Born This Way, and Teen Mom will find resonance in its blend of real-life struggle, emotional exposure, and hope for recovery.

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