PICKED APART!
Fans lobby to dump Robbie & bring back Frank
AMERICAN Pickers fans are pleading for the show’s producers to dump co-host Robbie Wolfe, who became his brother Mike’s sidekick when Frank Fritz was fired in 2020 after ten seasons.
Critical viewers want “grouchy,” “know-nothing” Robbie, 63, to be left by the side of the road and flocked to the show’s Facebook page to poke the unpopular picker. “Can’t stand how boring
Robbie is,” one kvetched.
“As soon as I see Robbie’s face I change the channel,” another griped. “Without Frank I’m not a fan,” another complained.
There have also been calls to bring back fan favorite
Dave Ohrt, a professional assembler who hasn’t been seen on Pickers since 2020. Viewers loved his treasurefrom-trash segments where he transformed rusty cast iron pans, kitchen gadgets and old-timey restaurant signs into artworks.
Fritz, 58, was axed after a feud with Mike, 59. In 2022, he had a massive stroke and still isn’t fully recovered.
The former pals didn’t speak for years but reconciled at a meeting arranged by a friend over Memorial Day in 2023. So far, however, that has not translated into an invite back on the show. There’s also been no indication from the History Channel that Ohrt will return to join the Wolfe brothers and cast members Danielle Colby and Jon “Jersey Jon” Szalay.
Ratings for the show’s
25th season, which debuted last December, have been on a roller coaster; the March 13 episode had 785,000 viewers, down 151,000 from the previous week.
Besides the casting issues, the show has lost female viewers, with insiders blaming a new focus on vehicle makeovers instead of finding quirky treasures.