American Pickers is an American reality television series that premiered on January 18, 2010 on the History channel, produced by A&E Television Networks in collaboration with Cineflix Media.

• 1Overview
• 2Reception
  • 2.1Australia
• 3Episodes
• 4Home media
• 5See also
• 6References
• 7External links

Overview

The Nash Statesman Super in front of the Antique Archaeology building in Le Claire, Iowa

The show follows antique and collectible pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz who travel around the United States to buy or "pick" various items for resale, for clients, or for their personal collections. Danielle Colby runs the office of Wolfe's business, Antique Archaeology,[1] from their home base in Le Claire, Iowa, and more recently at a second location in Nashville, Tennessee. They originally traveled in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van and now a Ford Transit. Fritz sells his acquisitions at his own shop, and previously on his now-defunct website,[2] Frank Fritz Finds, upriver in Savanna, Illinois.[3] The men go on the road, not only following up leads that Colby has generated, but also "free-styling" - stopping at places that look like they might hold items worth buying. They also pick some places more than once.

The series introduction is narrated by Wolfe and Fritz. The first three seasons used the complete opening. Beginning with season 4, a shortened version is used, with the portion in italics below removed:

Mike and Frank explore people's homes, barns, sheds, outbuildings, and other places where they have stored antiques and collectibles. They call upon casual collectors, hoarders, and occasionally people who have inherited overwhelming collections of apparent junk. Wolfe, who has been picking since age four, has a particular interest in antique motorcycles, air-cooled Volkswagens (referred to as VOTES-wagons by Wolfe), old bicycles, and penny-farthings, while Fritz has a fondness for antique toys, oil cans, and old Hondas, with a special love for peanut related items.[5] They have purchased old advertisements and commercial signage, film posters, a rare 15-gallon visible gasoline pump, and a Piaggio Ape (pronounced: ah-peh) that one of their friends told them is probably the only one of its kind in North America.

In December 2011, American Pickers revealed that Antique Archaeology had leased part of a former 1914 car factory in Nashville, Tennessee, which originally made the Marathon automobile, for a second business location to decrease the distance required to haul their finds from the southern states.

Mike Wolfe made a cameo as himself on Season 15, Episode 17 of NCIS on March 13, 2018 titled "One Man's Trash".

Reception

The series debuted on January 18, 2010. The premiere episode of American Pickers had 3.1 million viewers, making it the highest rated History channel debut since Ice Road Truckers in 2007. The September 8, 2010, episode "Laurel & Hardy" garnered Nielsen ratings as high as 5.3 million viewers in the 25–54 age group. As of that episode, the show retained the title of

Australia

American Pickers has also been a hit in Australia, where it can be viewed on Channel 7mate. In 2013 An Australian version of the show called Aussie Pickers premiered on 7mate. The series ran until 2014 lasting 2 seasons.

Episodes

Home media

American Pickers is distributed on DVD by Beyond Home Entertainment in Australia.

See also

• Canadian Pickers / Cash Cowboys (2011–13), a similar TV series featuring two pickers in Canada; produced by Cineflix Media for the History channel in Canada.
• Aussie Pickers, a similar TV series featuring two pickers in Australia on the A&E Australia channel, beginning in 2013.
• Picker Sisters, a 2011 TV series about two female pickers/designers.
• Picked Off, History's 2012 reality competition series, also produced by Cineflix Media.

References

1. ^ Steven Kurutz (August 24, 2011). "At Home with Mike Wolfe: The Jack Kerouac of Junk". The New York Times.
2. ^ Rob Owen (September 2, 2012). "'Pickers' don't compete on sales". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
3. ^ http://frankfritzfinds.com/The-Store.aspx
4. ^ "'Mike Wolfe & Frank Fritz'".
5. ^ "Mike's Breakdown" (season 2, episode 12)
6. ^ "American Pickers": The Inside Story of the History Channel’s Surprise Hit Archived 2010-09-11 at the Wayback Machine River Cities' Reader Quote: "The episode "Super Scooter" shows how the pair works together. Wolfe is nearly drooling over a Vespa Ape scooter."
7. ^ "Big Bear" (season 1, episode 1)
8. ^ Antique Archaeology web page about Nashville location Archived 2011-12-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012-01-03
9. ^ "'Series Debut of American Pickers Scores 3.1 million'".
10. ^ "'HISTORY Posts Blockbuster Ratings on Monday Night with Premiere Episodes of Hit Series 'American Pickers & 'Pawn Stars".

External links

• Official website
• History's "Meet the Pickers" cast bios
• Official Antique Archaeology website
• Official Frank Fritz Finds website
• American Pickers on IMDb
• "American Pickers": The Inside Story of the History Channel’s Surprise Hit, Jeff Ignatius, River Cities' Reader, 17 March 2010

• 2010 American television series debuts
• 2010s American reality television series
• Antiques television series
• English-language television programs
• History (U.S. TV channel) original programs
• Television shows set in Iowa
• Cineflix shows

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• IMDb
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