For more than a decade, American Pickers has given the world a glimpse into what it’s like to truly live out the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. During each episode, the show’s hosts travel to places all over the United States in search of antiques and other collectibles. These items will then be sold in their store, Antique Archaeology, which has locations in Iowa and Tennessee. The process of buying these items is referred to as picking. Although the show portrays Mike and Frank are the people doing all of the picking, there’s a lot more to the process than most viewers realize. Keep reading to learn more about who does the picking on American Pickers.
The Truth About Picking
Any time you watch a reality TV show, you have to understand that it’s not actually real. Between editing, exaggerated storylines, and false scenarios, there are a lot of things about reality TV that aren’t what they seem. Still, people tend to think that what they see is what they get with shows like American Pickers, but even those have some tricky things going on behind the scenes. First and foremost, the locations on American Pickers are chosen long before the cameras start rolling.
When it comes to the actual picking on American Pickers, Mike and Frank aren’t always the ones who do it. According to Living 101, “The purchases are real, and the crew are real pickers — but the transactions don’t usually happen quite the way they’re portrayed on screen.” On top of that, Mike and Frank aren’t always the ones to negotiate the prices. Living 101 also reported, “Oftentimes, the sellers and the buyers agree on the price before the cameras start rolling. However, multiple sellers have complained that once they started filming, Mike and Frank began haggling down on the agreed price.”
To most people, these things probably aren’t surprising considering the fact that a lot goes into filming a show like American Pickers. Streamlining as many parts of the production process makes things a lot smoother and allows for the best use of everyone’s time.
What The Future Holds For American Pickers
If you’re an American Pickers fan, you may know that there’s been some drama behind the scenes lately. In July of 2021, it was revealed that Frank would be leaving the show. Even though the reason for his departure wasn’t initially made clear, lots of people suspected that there might be some bad blood between him and Mike. However, those rumors started to die down a little when Mike released a statement on social media saying that he looked at Frank like a “brother”. He also added that he was going to miss Frank.
Frank, however, eventually made it clear that his and Mike’s relationship wasn’t really a brotherhood at all. He also shared that he would’ve loved to continue doing the show which suggested that him leaving wasn’t entirely his choice. During an interview with The Sun, Frank shared, “I haven’t talked to Mike in two years. He knew my back was messed up, but he didn’t call me up and ask how I was doing. That’s just how it is.”
He went on to say, “The show is tilted towards him 1,000 percent. I can’t even bend that far down to show you how much. That’s fine. It’s like you’ve got Aerosmith and there’s Steven Tyler and he’s the front man. I found my spot, I’m second and he’s number one on the show. That’s no problem with me, maybe he does have a problem”.
Who Will Replace Frank?
Once Frank’s departure was announced, the question of who would replace him immediately followed. When he was talking to The Sun, he revealed his belief that Mike was hoping to bring his brother in as a replacement. At the moment, however, it doesn’t appear that Frank’s replacement has officially been announced. How the show decides to handle this transition will be extremely important. Some people have already expressed that they don’t have an interest in watching now that Frank is gone, and bringing in the wrong person could drive even more people away.
Reality TV is known for drama, but drama on a show like American Pickers probably isn’t something that a lot of people saw coming. This just goes to show that you never really know what’s going on behind the scenes. Hopefully, American Pickers is able to survive the split and hopefully Frank finds some other opportunities that allow him to be successful.
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