Storage Hunters
| Storage Hunters | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Sean Kelly Brandon & Lori Jesse McClure Papa Bear T-Money |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | US Series 3 UK Series 4 |
| No. of episodes | US Series 73 UK Series 40 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | United States (2011–2013) United Kingdom (2014–present) |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production company | T Group Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | TruTV (US) Dave (UK) |
| Release | US Series June 21, 2011 – December 17, 2013 UK Series October 28, 2014 – present |
Storage Hunters is a reality television series featuring a series of storage auctions, created by and starring auctioneer Sean Kelly. It originally ran in the US from 2011 to 2013 on TruTV[1] and has been particularly successful in the UK on the digital channel Dave. A domestic British version, also featuring Kelly, started broadcasting in 2014 and has continued into 2016. The series has also been shown on New Zealand's TV3.
Format
The show was created by and focused on comedian and former second hand retailer Sean Kelly staging a series of storage auctions, including trips to luggage and shipping containers.[2][3] Kelly had started doing stand-up in 1998 part-time, while working at The Reader, progressing to being a warm-up act for Dennis Miller and Bob Saget by 2003. The same year, he started running auctions, initially for charity, before leaving journalism in 2008 to focus on comedy and auctioneering.[4]
For the US series, Kelly interacted with bidders Brandon and Lori Bernier (both Boston-born, based in Los Angeles), the Taylor Brothers, Jesse McClure, Tarrell "T-Money" Wright, Ron "Papa Bear" Kirkpatrick, Kashuna, Wade, FJ, Gary "Goal Machine" Madine, Scott and Chrissy Tassone, the Alvardo Brothers, "Desert Dan," Mone Smith, Will and Nick Eastwood, Soccer Mom and the lock cutters/security guards, Will C. (Season 1), Cameron "Green Mile" Rowe (Season 2-Season 3).[5][6] The series was cancelled on TruTV after Season 3 ended.[7]
In the UK and Ireland the show has been broadcast and repeated on the digital channel Dave. In 2014, Dave commissioned a spin-off series called Storage Hunters UK, featuring Kelly reprising his role as auctioneer with a series of British bidders hunting for valuables across the UK.[8] Dave was revealed to have renewed the UK version for two more series on 21 January 2015,[9] with the second series beginning on 2 June later that year, with US regulars, Jesse and T-Money joining the show.[10] Series 3 of the show premiered on 15 September 2015.[11]
Reception
The show has been well received in the UK, with the first episode of Storage Hunters UK being watched by over 1.1 million viewers, beating ratings for several prime time television shows broadcast that week.[12]
The Guardian's Rhik Samadder described Kelly's auctioneering style "like someone has attached electrodes to a woodpecker".[2] Tom Eames writing in Digital Spy described it as "one of the least authentic and most fake shows you will ever see, and comes under the umbrella of 'trashy reality' programmes that the US are very good at", but adding that "somehow, it is strangely addictive and enjoyable, and has clearly become a big guilty pleasure of many UK viewers."[13]
Kelly has attributed the success of the show to its characters and their lack of social skills, comparing it to "watching a carnival".[2] In an interview for Digital Spy, he speculated that the strong popularity of the show in the UK may lead to a revival of the US series.[14]
Buyers
Main Buyers US
| Name | Nickname | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Brandon and Lori Bernier | Team Brandori | Yes | ||
| Jesse McClure | Jesse | Yes | ||
| Tarrell Wright | T-Money | Yes | ||
| Ronald Kirkpatrick | Papa Bear | Yes | ||
| James and Dustin Taylor | The Taylor Brothers | Yes | No | |
| Scott and Chrissy Tassone | Scott and Chrissy | No | Yes | No |
| Mone Smith | Mone | No | Yes | |
Main Buyers UK
| Name | Nickname | Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| John and Natalie Maddox | John and Natalie | Yes | ||||
| Colin Newell | Heavy D Aka the boominator | Yes | ||||
| Linda Lambert | Linda | Yes | ||||
| Daniel Hill | Dapper Dan | Yes | No | |||
| Barry and Darren Elford | Barry and Darren | Yes | ||||
| George Johnson | George | Yes | No | |||
Minor Buyers US
| Name | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Desert Dan | Yes | No | |
| Wade Gallagher | Yes | No | |
| FJ | Yes | No | |
| Kashuna Perfected | Yes | No | |
| The Alvarado Brothers | No | Yes | No |
| Danarchy | No | No | Yes |
Minor Buyers UK
| Name | Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Jesse McClure | No | Yes | No | ||
| T-Money | No | Yes | No | ||
| Samantha Bartlett | No | Yes | |||
| Boudicca Scherazade | No | Yes | |||
| Rupert | Yes | No | |||
| Scotty | No | Yes | |||
See also
- Auction Hunters, a similar show on Spike TV
- Storage Wars, a similar show on A&E TV
- Container Wars, a similar series on TruTV
References
- ^ "Storage Hunters Episode: "Storage Hunters"". Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ a b c Samadder, Rhik (February 10, 2015). "Storage Hunters: Sean Kelly has a rumble in our jumble". The Guardian. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
- ^ Kelly, Sean. "The Charity Auctioneer".
- ^ "Storage Hunters : 8 fun facts about Sean Kelly". MKWeb. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "Storage Hunters: Cast & Details". Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ Time Warner Networks, Inc. (2012-09-16). "Storage Hunter: Bios - Think Big (Money)". Time Warning Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
- ^ Cancelled / Ended TV Shows on TruTV, retrieved 2014-10-27
- ^ UKTV Group. "Storage Hunters UK". UKTV. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
- ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a623096/storage-hunters-uk-dave-orders-two-more-series.html#~pez1MbByPxEXLf
- ^ Metro. "Storage Hunters UK Second Series". Metro. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
- ^ UKTV. "Storage Hunters UK Third Series". UKTV. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
- ^ "Storage Hunters UK debuts with a bigger audience than Walking Dead". The Guardian. October 30, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
- ^ Eames, Tom (22 July 2013). "'Storage Hunters': Dave's addictive showcase of greed". Digital Spy
- ^ "Storage Hunters star Sean Kelly interview: 'American version may return'". Digital Spy. February 14, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.