AMERICAN Pickers ratings have dropped to the lowest of the season for episode four after Mike Wolfe revealed the real reason for his late co-star Frank Fritz’s firing from the series.
Season 26 of American Pickers premiered with Mike, 59, and Robbie Wolfe, Jon “Jersey Jon” Szalay and Danielle Colby on October 9.
American Pickers stars Mike and Robbie Wolfe, Danielle Colby and Jon ‘Jersey Jon’ Szalay[/caption]
Ratings have been low since the death of fan-favorite co-star Frank Fritz[/caption]
Ratings have been low compared to previous seasons, as the October 30th episode saw the worst numbers since the premiere.
Just 442,000 viewers tuned in for The DIY Delorean, which saw Mike and Jersey Jon “go hog wild for a four-generation carny collection complete with carousel horses, toy tanks, and bumper cars.”
The premiere episode brought in 565,000 fans as Mike picked through Evel Knievel memorabilia.
The second episode of the season, which aired on October 16, brought in just 463,000 viewers, an over 100,000 drop in just one week.
The third episode of Season 26, The Great Razooly, saw a bit of a surge with 566,000 viewers tuning in.
PAST RATINGS
The ratings for the current season are low compared to Season 25.
Season 25, which kicked off with a two-episode premiere in December 2023, brought in 723,000 viewers for the first episode and 676,000 for the second.
Episode three had 880,000 viewers tune in.
By the January 24 episode, ratings surged to 948,000 viewers.
The numbers dropped back down through most of February with the lowest on February 14 having 774,000 viewers and the highest on February 28 with 966,000.
The season finale on March 27 brought in 832,000 viewers.
When Frank was on the show, ratings were over a million viewers.
Mike revealed Frank struggled with opioid addiction after undergoing back surgery[/caption]
FEUD WITH FRANK
Frank last appeared on American Pickers in March 2020.
He left the series to undergo back surgery.
In 2021, Mike revealed he was not returning to the series.
Frank told The U.S. Sun during a 2021 interview that he was feuding with his co-star Mike.
Frank said at the time, “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.
“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.”
Frank then said it would be “hard” to “put the show on after not talking to somebody for two years.”
Frank added, “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.”
FRANK’S BATTLE
In an interview with People, Mike revealed the reason Frank did not return to the History Channel series.
He explained how during the pandemic, Frank injured his back while moving items around his Iowa home and underwent surgery.
“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,” Mike said.
Mike said he staged an intervention with Frank’s loved ones.
“I remember running into him like a month later,” Mike said. “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.”
But Mike claimed Frank continued to struggle with addiction when filming started, as they “fought really hard to get him into rehab” and he “never, ever gave up” on his friend.
Mike claimed production asked Frank for negative drug tests, but he didn’t provide them.
Mike said the network “just finally made the decision,” despite the star’s “mixed emotions about doing that.”
Despite the firing and feud, the two ultimately made up, as Mike said of the 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.”
A source claimed to The U.S. Sun about how Frank’s substance abuse battle began.
“Because of Frank’s battle with Crohn’s, he was on medication that left his bones weak. When he broke his back, he needed to undergo surgery.
“That’s when he got addicted to pain medication,” the insider claimed.
Crohn’s is a bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract.
The source alleged that Frank “went to rehab twice” to combat his addiction issues.
He got out, and then he suffered the stroke,” the insider alleged.
In the July 2021 interview with The U.S. Sun, Frank revealed he entered treatment for alcohol abuse at The Abbey Center in Bettendorf, Iowa for 77 days.
He was sober for 11 months at the time of the interview.
Frank Fritz’s Conservatorship
Frank Fritz was placed under a conservatorship in August 2022, just weeks after he suffered a stroke.
- Frank’s conservator is MidWestOne Bank and is in charge of his finances
- The bank agreed to invest Frank’s money and collections to generate income
- The guardian is his good friend Chris Davis
- Chris is responsible for helping Frank manage his Crohn’s disease treatment, go to physical therapy, grocery shop, cook and more day-to-day tasks
- The conservatorship also agreed to help replenish Frank’s Iowa antique store, Frank Fritz Finds
- A wheel-chair ramp and more have been installed in his Iowa home under the conservatorship
HEALTH CRISIS
But a year later in July 2022, Frank suffered a stroke at his Iowa farmhouse.
Frank’s close friends filed a guardianship and conservatorship for him soon after because his “decision-making capacity” was “so impaired.”
He passed away in hospice on September 30, 2024 at age 60.
Mike told People of Frank’s final moments, “I got the call that he wasn’t doing well. I just feel blessed that I was able to get there. I was there for about an hour before he passed, and I was holding his hand and rubbing his chest when he took his last breath.
“I took my fingers and I closed his eyes.”
Mike said of his friend, “He was an extremely hard worker. He was like no one I’d ever met in my whole life.
“He was a beautiful, beautiful person that, to be honest with you, who knows what our lives would’ve been like if there was never a show. I just want people to know who he was.”
Ratings have been low since Frank’s passing[/caption]
Frank passed away on September 30, two years after suffering a stroke[/caption]
