VH1 debuted a docuseries last night called The OCD Project , a mysteriously stone-faced exploration of people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It has some of the trappings of familiar VH1 fare — the sufferers move into a house to seek treatment, a psychiatrist consults and sets up phobia-breaking stunts, and confessionals punctuate the hour — but the low-key storytelling and lack of a celebrity draw mark a weird new vista for VH1. The once-proud network of Rock of Love Bus shows signs of evolving into A&E, whose arguably exploitative, but revered docuseries Obsessed , Intervention and Hoarders have set a standard for reality series about psychiatric disorders. At the same time, as VH1 escalates in quality, A&E continues to pad its lineup with programming about Kirstie Alley, Gene Simmons, and many other celebrities . Is a bizarre switcheroo occurring?
