You won't catch David Duchovny,
Rob Lowe or even Eric Benet on "Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew." Sex addiction is still such a taboo,
VH1 had to settle for the lowest star power of any series in its celebrity 
Running for eight Sundays beginning Nov. 1st at 10 p.m. ET/PT, "Sex Rehab" features porn stars Penny Flame and Kendra Jade Rossi, wakeboarder James Lovett, Colin Farrell sex tape star Nicole Narain, former Miss United States Teen Kari Ann Peniche,
director Duncan Roy, former (but not even
original) Skid Row drummer Phil Varone and the
only thing resembling a familiar face: returning Dr.
Was Eric Benet really THAT busy?
Photos: Meet the cast of "Sex Rehab" | Also: More VH1 on MSN TV
"I don't get involved in the casting of any of these things," Dr. Drew Pinsky told MSN TV. Nevertheless, the addiction-medicine
specialist and executive
"This is more intense than anything I've ever done on television,�Pinsky said.�Sex addiction is much more deeply imbedded in childhood trauma."
Plus: Reality Superfans Blog
The disease affects 3-5% of the U.S. population, according to the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, which calls this a "very conservative estimate."
"It's unsavory," Pinsky said.�"It makes people do things that are unpleasant, and it certainly isn't something you want to talk about in polite conversation."
"This is stuff that we normally have to avoid when treating chemical addicts, because it makes them want to go out and do drugs."
In fact, "Sex Rehab" viewers will see Peniche booted from the show for hiding a severe methamphetamine addiction.
"I had to kick her out of treatment," Pinsky said.�"Then I brought her into 'Celebrity Rehab' and she did much better. (On "Celebrity Rehab 3" -- which debuts January 10th -- Peniche publicly battles her bottled demons alongside former child actress and incest victim Mackenzie Phillips, former Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss, actor Tom Sizemore, former NBA star Dennis Rodman and country singer Mindy McCready.)
Peniche may have done well in treatment, but ever since�"Celebrity Rehab 3" wrapped this summer, a public feud with McCready,�Peniche's roommate on the series, is casting doubt on her togetherness. Peniche claims that McCready stole and leaked to the Internet a nude tape starring Peniche, actor Eric Dane and wife, actress Rebecca Gayheart. McCready not only denies the allegations, but claims that Peniche admitted being a prostitute to her.
"Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew" raises the same ethical questions as Pinsky's other series: If its therapeutic model is accurate, then fame can
be seen as an addiction, too, one that TV exposure only feeds into.
"These people come into treatment because they want to be on TV and get paid, not because they want to get sober, so I've got a different motivational structure than�I'm used to dealing with," Pinsky said. "The good news is, it doesn't seem to make any difference."
Pinsky claims the treatment works in spite of the cameras.
"If there's exploitation, you would think the objects of that exploitation would feel that way," he said.�"And the fact is, every single person that's been on any of these shows feels not only that they were not exploited, but that their lives were changed in a positive away, that they got something profound out of this and they all ended up wanting to be an inspiration to other people."
Pinsky did admit, however, that his need to heal constantly locks heads with the producers' need for compelling TV.
"I�lay down on the railroad tracks all the time, constantly,"�Pinsky said.�By the end of these things, I'm so exhausted, you can't even imagine. There's only one person responsible for the well-being of these people, and that's me."
"And it's heavy lifting."
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