American Pickers
| American Pickers | |
|---|---|
 Title Logo |
|
| Also known as | The Pickers (outside the US) |
| Genre | Reality |
| Created by | Mike Wolfe |
| Developed by | Mark Poertner, Stephen Pettinger |
| Directed by | Anthony Mastanduno |
| Presented by | Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz |
| Starring | Mike Wolfe Frank Fritz Danielle Colby-Cushman |
| Theme music composer | Jingle Punks Music |
| Composer(s) | The Dark Studio |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 (ongoing) |
| No. of episodes | 55 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Charles Tremayne Mark Poertner Mike Wolfe |
| Producer(s) | Simon Lloyd Stephen Pettinger Julie Cooper |
| Editor(s) | Julianna Borg Max Cherpitel Charles Montany William Shaw |
| Location(s) | Nationwide, particularly Rural America (especially Midwest and South) |
| Cinematography | John Chiappardi |
| Camera setup | Multiple (Casey Marucci, Jennifer Tsai) |
| Running time | 45-48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Cineflix (AP3) Inc. A&E Television Networks, LLC |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | History Lifetime |
| Original run | January 18, 2010 – Present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
American Pickers (also known as The Pickers in some international markets) is an American reality television series that premiered on January 18, 2010 on History Channel. The series began running concurrently on sister channel Lifetime in December 2010.
Contents |
[edit] Summary and reception
The show follows Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they travel around the greater Midwestern United States as well as the eastern and southern U.S. in a Mercedes Sprinter, buying antiques and collectibles. They work with Danielle Colby-Cushman, who runs the office of their business, Antique Archeology, from their home base in Le Claire, Iowa. While Danielle researches potential leads, Mike and Frank attempt to track down potential sellers on the road.
- Opening: The series intro is narrated by Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz:
| “ | I'm Mike Wolfe. And I'm Frank Fritz. And we're pickers. We travel the back roads of America looking for rusty gold. We're looking for amazing things buried in people's garages and barns. What most people see as junk, we see as dollar signs. We'll buy anything we think we can make a buck on. Each item we pick has a history all its own and the people we meet are a breed all their own. We make a living telling the history of America...one piece at a time. | ” |
Wolfe and Fritz explore people's homes, barns, sheds, and other outbuildings, and other places where they have collected 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,[1] has a particular interest in antique motorcycles, old bicycles and penny-farthings, while Fritz has a fondness for antique toys, antique oil cans, and old Hondas.[2] 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.[3][4]
The series debuted on January 18, 2010. The premiere episode of American Pickers produced 3.1 million total viewers, making it the highest rated History channel debut since Ice Road Truckers in 2007.[5] Season 2 premiered June 7, 2010.[6] The September 8, 2010 episode "Laurel & Hardy" garnered ratings as high as 5.3 million viewers in the 25-54 adult class. As of that episode, the show retained the title of #1 new non-fiction series of 2010 among total viewers and adults 25-54.[7] Season 3 premiered March 28, 2011.
In December 2011, American Pickers revealed that Antique Archaelogy had leased a 1910s car factory in Nashville, Tennessee, which originally made the Marathon, for a second location for their business, as a way to decrease the distance of hauling their finds from the southern states back to the Iowa location.[8]
[edit] Episodes
[edit] See also
- Oddities, featuring a New York antiques and oddities store
- Picker Sisters, TV series about two female pickers/designers
- Storage Wars, TV series about storage unit auctions
- Storage Hunters, TV series about storage unit auctions
- Auction Hunters, TV series about storage unit auctions
- Canadian Pickers, similar TV series featuring two pickers from Canada; produced by Cineflix for History Television
[edit] References
- ^ "'Mike Wolf & Frank Fritz'". http://www.cineflixproductions.com/hosts/26-Mike-Wolfe-Frank-Fritz-.
- ^ "Mike's Breakdown" (season 2, episode 12)
- ^ “American Pickers”: The Inside Story of the History Channel’s Surprise Hit River Cities' Reader Quote: "The episode "Super Scooter" shows how the pair works together. Wolfe is nearly drooling over a Vespa Ape scooter."
- ^ "Big Bear" (season 1, episode 1)
- ^ "'Series Debut of American Pickers Scores 3.1 million'". http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/19/series-debut-of-american-pickers-scores-3-1-million-new-episodes-of-pawn-stars-average-3-8-million/39384.
- ^ "'American Pickers' Season 2 Goes Back to the Junkyard". May 24, 2010. http://www.poptower.com/news-15808/american-pickers-season-2-return-premiere.htm. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ "'HISTORY® Posts Blockbuster Ratings on Monday Night with Premiere Episodes of Hit Series ‘American Pickers & ‘Pawn Stars‘'". http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/09/08/history%C2%AE-posts-blockbuster-ratings-on-monday-night-with-premiere-episodes-of-hit-series-american-pickers-pawn-stars/62614.
- ^ Antique Archaeology web page about Nashville location Retrieved 2012-01-03
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Official Antique Archaeology website
- American Pickers at the Internet Movie Database
- “American Pickers”: The Inside Story of the History Channel’s Surprise Hit, Jeff Ignatius, River Cities' Reader, 17 March 2010
