American Pickers has been filming new episodes for fifteen years at this point, and has been incredibly popular with History Channel fans during that time period. While it’s hard to imagine the cabler without its show devoted to rust, the open road and all kinds of Americana, as it turns out it took years of Mike Wolfe pitching before he was actually able to get the network to say, "yes."
The reason? Before Wolfe introduced the concept on television, not a whole lot of people really knew what a picker was. Of course there were antique shops and other venues across the country selling all kinds of this cool, old stuff, but Wolfe noted that most individuals, including those minds in charge at the History Channel, had no idea how those items found their way into stores. Even when he explained, people had trouble figuring out what to make of his pitch idea. They thought it would be too niche for the cable audience. That is, until he changed their minds.
I said, here’s the deal man, you’re the History Channel. Let’s educate them! Let’s tell them what a Picker is.
Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Mike Wolfe said he doggedly pitched American Pickers to History for five full years, yes five, before the network decided to give the idea a go. Given the show’s popularity as both a mainstay program on the network and as a reality show that brings in solid ratings (even amidst his reported feud with Frank Fritz), this is pretty shocking. It make sense in context though. No one knew what a Picker was at the time. It’s not as easy to sell as a concept even when compared to something that seems similar like Pawn Stars.
But Wolfe was a collector, too. He understood the time, love and labor that went into the process. He knew if he could just share what he saw in the objects he and others had collected over a lifetime that the world would see the beauty in picking, too, also telling the outlet:
All these things were someone else’s dreams. They were someone else’s world. There’s like a magic to it, it’s magical…
It finally worked. American Pickers has stood the test of time on History. Wolfe had traveled about 70,000 miles a year at the time the interview was conducted, and has produced 25 seasons and nearly 400 episodes of the show to date. The reality concept has withstood Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe breaking the band up, and it’s added new hosts, including Mike’s brother Robbie over time. It took the right person to bring the reality show to life, and keep it together all these years, and I'm not sure the show would have been the same if someone else who wasn't Wolfe had pitched it.
Though rumors have indicated Pickers could be ending sometime over the next few years, if it does, it will have left behind a legacy that’s pretty monumental: Introducing the saving and restoration of much-loved and historic items to many, many people around the country, and maybe the world.
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