Most cable viewers tune into their favorite
channels and shows to be entertained. But a
few networks have recently announced shows
that may actually try to help viewers with personal
crises.
Shows like A&E’s popular Intervention and
Hoarders that lend a helping hand to people
caught up in destructive and addictive behaviors
will be joined on the cable dial in September
by TV One’s Save My Son, which profile the
struggles of black families to save their troubled
sons when they’ve fallen victim to bad influences
and choices. Educational activist Dr. Steve
Perry and pro athletes such as former NBA stars Derek Anderson
and Jalen Rose will join families in intervening with
troubled youths to keep them from going down a wrong
path that could lead to gangs, incarceration or early death.
BET will debut later this year The Mathis Project, featuring
Judge Greg Mathis, aiming to empower neighborhoods
plagued by unsolved homicides. The series follows the debut
earlier this year of TV One’s Find Our Missing,
in which the network teamed with the families
of missing persons as well as advocacy groups
to solve cases of African-Americans who disappeared.
OWN will take interventions out of the home
and over to the people next door with Neighborvention,
as struggling families find hope and
counsel from other community members.
Even troubled pets are not immune to an intervention.
Nat Geo Wild will team with Clint
Eastwood’s daughter Alison to save wild animals
from owners unable or unwilling to care
for them, via Animal Intervention.
Some will argue that the majority of viewers tune in to
these shows for entertainment as voyeurs peeking into the
destructive lives of truly troubled people in their time of
need. But give the networks credit for shining a light on often
difficult situations and issues that are often ignored or
swept under the rug, to the detriment of us all.
