It’s hard to believe we are at the end of an era. Amidst American Pickers cancellation rumors (and ones that were perpetuated by co-star Danielle Colby), Mike Wolfe is set to premiere History’s Greatest Picks on the 2026 TV schedule. It’s a new chapter for the star, but it also has him looking back at his early days with Frank Fritz and all of the big moments that have led him to this new chapter.
History’s Greatest Picks is a new series for Mike Wolfe, and one where he’ll have to go it alone. He told People the timing of the change for his career has been notable, and says Fritz has been at the forefront of his mind a lot in recent weeks now that it’s been a bit over a year since he died at 60.
I've been thinking a lot about when the new show airs on the 22nd, and it's been a little over a year since he's passed. And just praying to find the words to bring these pieces to a point where people don't want to change the channel and they're interested in them. That's what Frank and I were tasked with every day.
So why is Wolfe spending a lot of time thinking about Frank Fritz, now? He feels he owes a debt of gratitude for his longtime pal and onscreen co-host.
And we learned how to be on-camera together. I owe him so much for believing in me for the first show, and now I owe him so much for the opportunity for this one.
This isn’t the first time Wolfe nodded back at his early work on American Pickers in recent weeks. A short while back, he also shared a post about how they had “no idea” what they “were doing” during those early days on the road. He also shared how, despite Frank Fritz’s firing and rumors of a feud between him and Wolfe, they were able to make up in his final days.
Wolfe’s had a tough go of it after a car accident led to his girlfriend Leticia Cline being hospitalized for an extended period of time. He was driving at the time, and stayed by her side throughout. It’s been a year of change for the longtime picker, but he’s landing on his feet.
History’s Greatest Picks will allow him to remain with the network that gave him a home, and will feature the reality star looking at some of history’s greatest finds. It will be less personal to Wolfe than Pickers could sometimes be, but should be a good one for history buffs in general.
For example, an early episode will look at the Mustang from Bullitt, a 1968 beaut driven by Steve McQueen that also recently came up up as a topic of discussion in the new Chris Hemsworth thriller Crime 101. Is that enough to get people to tune in? We’ll soon find out.
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