Mike Wolfe explains Frank Fritz’s firing as 'American Pickers' ratings dropped: "He was struggling..."
In recent years, the ratings of the History's popular program 'American Pickers' have witnessed a huge drop! According to a report by The US Sun, the premiere episode of American Pickers' Season 26 which released on October 9, 2024, brought in nearly 565,000 fans. On the other hand, when we talk about the second episode titled 'Wolfemen vs the Automatons', released on October 16, was watched by 463,000 viewers. In just a week, the viewership of the show dropped by 100,000. However, the third episode of the program named 'The Great Razooly' observed an upsurge with 566,000 fans tuning in for the episode.
The latest season of 'American Pickers' struggled with fluctuating ratings, falling short compared to the previous season. Season 25 kicked off in December 2023 with a two-hour premiere that drew 723,000 viewers, followed by a slight drop to 676,000 for the second episode. The numbers rebounded for the third episode, which saw nearly 880,000 viewers tuning in. However, by February, ratings had dipped again, with the February 14 episode hitting a season-low of 774,000. The show saw another surge by February 28, reaching 966,000 viewers, but the momentum didn’t last—the season finale on March 27 dropped to 832,000 viewers.
When Frank Fritz was a part of the History Channel series 'American Pickers', the ratings were sky-high. For the unversed, Fritz was last seen on the show in March 2020. Fritz left the program for back surgery and later confirmed in 2021 that he wouldn’t be returning. While having a conversation with The US Sun in 2021, Fritz shed light on his feud with his fellow co-star Mike Wolfe. “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."
Fritz further added, "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." Fritz also mentioned that it would be hard for him to “put the show on after not talking to somebody for two years.” The reality television personality continued, “I’m just trying to get through life like everybody else and be as happy as I possibly can. Life is what you put into it. If you don’t put much into it you don’t get a lot out of it.”
During an interview with People magazine, Wolfe revealed the real reason why Fritz didn't return to 'American Pickers.' Wolfe "With that time off and him having surgery, it was like the perfect storm. He became addicted to opioids, and that's when everything changed," Wolfe said.
Wolfe also stated that he staged an intervention with Fritz's loved ones. "I remember running into him like a month later. He said he was just going to handle everything on his own, and I asked him how he was doing. He said, 'I'm fine. I'm fine. No, I'm really fine.' And then like a month later, he was gone. And so watching Frank doing some of the things that he was doing, it was really hard." Fritz was still struggling with addiction when the filming began. The production reportedly asked Fritz for negative drug tests and he failed to provide them. Shortly afterward, the network "just finally made the decision."
Despite their feud, Wolfe and Fritz patched up. Speaking of their reunion, "It was beautiful. He was struggling with addiction. I know how judgmental the public can be. And so that's why when we did end up speaking again, it was so easy for me to forgive him because I knew it wasn't him talking. It was his addiction talking." With time, Fritz's health deteriorated and he died at the age of 60 on September 20, 2024, from stroke complications.
