American Pickers star Mike Wolfe to begin filming new season of show despite discussing retirement
AMERICAN Pickers star Mike Wolfe is set to begin filming for the new season of the History Channel show despite retirement talks.
Mike, 60, stars on American Pickers with his brother Robbie, 57, and longtime co-star Danielle Colby.
With the first half of Season 25 premiering on December 27, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal fans could expect more seasons in the future.
A source close to Mike Told The U.S. Sun: “American Pickers wrapped up filming the first half of Season 26 in the fall.
“They start filming for the second half of Season 26 from January to June. It’s long, but he has the whole summer off. He just keeps filming!”
SHOW DRAMA
Despite continuing to film for History, Mike and his brother, Robbie, have been at odds with the network over the way episodes are rolled out.
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A source close to Mike previously told The U.S. Sun: “They’re pushing episodes back far. Why? I don’t know. They’re trying to keep up with the streaming.
"Instead of having a full season with a new episode every week, they do 10 episodes and stop.
“It pisses them off. Robbie has complained about how ‘stupid’ it was to see episodes filmed a year prior.”
The insider continued: “They are trying to play with all these things and see what happens. Like, ‘Oh okay we can do this, we can do that.'”
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Season 24 of American Pickers premiered on January 4 and ran weekly until March 8.
The remainder of Season 24 returned on July 5 and ran until August 23.
Season 25 will run from December 27 until January 31, giving viewers just 10 episodes.
RETIREMENT TALK
The U.S. Sun previously reported the brothers may be ready to call it quits soon.
A pal of Mike’s exclusively told The U.S. Sun: “I don’t know how long the show will last. I don’t know how long Mike and Robbie want to do this. I think they would like to retire at some point. It’s been 12 years.
“It’s a strain on your life. They’ve done this a long time. When they’re around it’s, ‘Ah we’re on the road again. I ain’t got time to do this, I ain’t got time to do that.’
“It’s a love-hate like with any job. Some days you don’t wish you had that job and you could do whatever you wanted. Some days you’re all excited about your job.”
LOW RATINGS
Season 24 has seen a dip in ratings compared to previous seasons with episodes reaching over $1million viewers.
The U.S. Sun previously reported 918,000 viewers watched the premiere episode.
The July 12 episode brought in 803,000 viewers, while the July 19 episode had 713,000.
Ratings were better for the July 26 episode with 885,000 viewers watching.
The August 9 episode dropped to 778,000 viewers, as ratings were even lower with 706,000 on August 16.
The August 23 episode brought in just 620,000 viewers, the lowest of the season.
A second source exclusively told The U.S. Sun that the stars of the show blame streaming popularity for the dip in ratings.
The insider said: “Less and less viewers have cable these days and new episodes are not available on any streaming services, just old ones.”
MISSING FRANK
Low ratings could also be blamed on the departure of fan-favorite star Frank Fritz, who last appeared on the show in March 2020 and later suffered a stroke in July 2022.
Fans have boycotted the show after the firing of the original cast member.
One commented on social media of the premiere episode: "I'll only watch American Pickers if it's a rerun with Frank. Carry on."
A second said: "The only episodes of American Pickers I watch is with Frank.”
A third wrote: “I miss Frank. I haven’t liked watching the show since he was gone.”
Frank was placed under conservatorship after he suffered a stroke in July 2022.
The U.S. Sun broke the news that the conservatorship was filed in August 2022.
The documents obtained by The U.S. Sun read: “Because of his stroke, Mr. Fritz’s decision-making capacity is so impaired that he is unable to care for his own safety, or to provide for necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical care without which physical injury or illness may occur.
“Mr. Fritz’s decision-making capacity is so impaired that he is unable to make, communicate, or carry out important decisions concerning his own financial affairs.”
An exhibit was mentioned in the court papers from a doctor, allegedly confirming Frank does not have decisional capacity.
The legal papers continued: “Decisions must be made for Mr. Fritz’s care and placement while he continues to recover and receive treatment for his injuries.
“Appointment of a guardian and conservator is necessary to avoid immediate harm to him.”
The Petitioner requested a separate longtime friend of Frank’s, who has been assisting him in decision-making since the stroke, be his guardian.
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The guardian will help Frank with his Crohn's disease treatment and continued physical therapy.
A friend recently told The U.S. Sun Frank has improved today, as he is walking again.
