From “Intervention†Creator Sam Mettler – New True Life Crime Series Features
Criminal Defense Attorney and Certified Intervention Professional Darren Kavinoky

(Silver Spring, MD) — Families across the nation are on the brink of destruction as their lives have been hijacked by a criminal loved one…this is their BREAKING POINT, Investigation Discovery’s new docudrama premiering Thursday, January, 15 at 10/9c. From Sam Mettler, the creator and executive producer of the long-running series “Intervention,†this groundbreaking reality series features subjects who believe they are participating in a documentary about their life of crime. What they don’t know is they will soon face an intervention that offers only two choices: accept treatment or face the possibility of prison time. Each surprise intervention is conducted by top criminal defense attorney and certified intervention professional, Darren Kavinoky, whose insights into illegal behavior are based not only in professional clinical interest – but, also his passion, borne of personal experience fighting his own addictions to drugs and alcohol, and committing crimes that led him to handcuffs, himself.

“Millions of families watch helplessly as a loved one’s lawlessness grows more and more dangerous, approaching a point from which there is no return, and that’s where this series steps in to shine a light on the enormous social, physical and emotional costs of criminal behavior,†said Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Destination American, American Heroes Channel, Discovery Family Channel and Discovery Fit & Health. “Perhaps, even more importantly, the show offers one last shot at redemption, reflecting Darren’s personal experience in this arena, which makes him uniquely qualified to guide viewers on an emotional journey through each family’s BREAKING POINT.â€

Told in gripping verite-style, these are the stories of lost souls who walk life’s tightrope, edging closer and closer to a great fall, while dragging their loved ones down with them. Through BREAKING POINT, the criminals and their families confront their darkest demons with the hope of finally finding a road to redemption. Each episode follows real criminals through their daily lives and starkly reveals the devastation their behavior has brought to themselves, their families and friends. Kavinoky enters to lend his authentic viewpoint stemming from his own personal experience, which could have led him to the same untimely end awaiting those who cannot, or will not, recover. Kavinoky and the extensive BREAKING POINT team have made it their mission to stop the madness that can lead only to jails, institutions, or death.

The premiere line-up of the first three episodes for BREAKING POINT is as follows:

Alex Premieres Thursday, January 15 at 10/9c
Alex, 26, has two different identities: “Bang$,†a violent criminal and “Bella,†a money-hungry prostitute. Combined with her addiction to crack and heroin, Alex is rapidly spiraling out of control. From robbery to kidnapping, there’s little she won’t do to feed her drug habit. Fearing for her safety, her large Italian family has banded together in hopes of saving her life.

Sahara Premieres Thursday, January 22 at 10/9c
Sahara, a 23-year-old make-up enthusiast, lives with her boyfriend Matt in a rundown motel outside of Palm Springs, California. Currently struggling to make ends meet, they must resort to illegal schemes ranging from shoplifting to stealing cars for supplemental income. Fast money comes easy when you’re a professional thief, but keeping it is hard when you’re addicted to meth.

Pierce Premieres Thursday, January 29 at 10/9c
Pierce, 26, regularly engages in stealing, conning, and petty crime to support his meth addiction. Now homeless and living on the streets of Los Angeles, he survives by any means necessary. Pierce’s addiction has taken a tremendous toll on his family, from whom he has stolen most anything of value, now it’s time for them to intervene…but will he show up?

BREAKING POINT is produced for Investigation Discovery by MadJack Entertainment with owner and CEO, Sam Mettler serving as creator and executive producer. Ben Daughtrey is co-executive producer and showrunner. For Investigation Discovery, Jeanie Vink is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Kevin Bennett is general manager, and Henry Schleiff is Group President.

About Darren Kavinoky
Award-winning criminal defense attorney and certified intervention professional, Darren Kavinoky provides those with addiction issues insight and legal expertise in each case featured on BREAKING POINT. Kavinoky is also the creator and host of Investigation Discovery’s hit crime TV show, DEADLY SINS, which is now in its fourth season on ID. Kavinoky regularly appears on TV and radio, including the Today show, The View, Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Dr. Phil, various programs on CNN, HLN, Fox News, and countless other shows. He is also the founder of 1.800.NoCuffs – The Kavinoky Law Firm and has been named one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in California†each year since 2007, and has been designated a “SuperLawyer†every year since 2010.

Making him especially qualified for BREAKING POINT, Kavinoky has suffered from his own addictions to drugs and alcohol that plagued him for many years — and led to several arrests, from drug possession to theft, in three different countries. To call the depths of his downward spiral a “bottom†is a gross understatement; he lost everything. But in May of 2000, after two decades of battling his demons, he experienced a pivotal moment. The bankrupt and homeless attorney, who once took fees in ounces of cocaine from the clients he was defending, found himself reading the book, “The Thinking Person’s Guide to Sobriety†while drunk and high. With his wife pointing out the irony in that moment, he decided to turn his life around and went on to create several multi-million dollar businesses. Most importantly, Kavinoky has a young daughter who has never seen her dad under the influence of anything. As an interventionist and as a keynote speaker, Kavinoky works tirelessly helping people and organizations produce their own pivotal moments that are just as powerful and sustainable.

About Madjack Entertainment
Founded and led by career entertainment executive Sam Mettler, Madjack Entertainment is committed to producing exciting, vibrant and compelling television programming. As opposed to Reality Television, Madjack goes a step further to produce what it calls Real Reality. In creating programming, the company does not manufacture drama, tragedy or excitement. Instead, each Madjack Entertainment series has naturally-occurring conflict and stakes … real life drama.

Mettler created and produced “Intervention,†which over the course of 14 seasons was lauded by Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, The Today Show, Good Morning America and Howard Stern, among countless others. The show has received five PRISM Awards, and won the 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program. Other series created and produced by Madjack include Chained To My Ex, a divorce series which aired on MSNBC.

About Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery (ID) is the leading mystery-and-suspense network on television and America’s favorite “guilty pleasure.†From harrowing crimes and salacious scandals to the in-depth investigations and heart-breaking mysteries that result, ID challenges our everyday understanding of culture, society and the human condition. One of our nation’s fastest growing cable networks, ID delivers the highest-quality programming to more than 86 million U.S. households and is available in both high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD). For more information, please visit InvestigationDiscovery.com, facebook.com/InvestigationDiscovery, or twitter.com/DiscoveryID. Investigation Discovery is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in 220 countries and territories.