Mike Wolfe Reflects on Early Days of ‘American Pickers’ With Frank Fritz

Mike Wolfe is looking back at almost two decades of American Pickers. 

‘American Pickers’ star had ‘no idea’ what he was doing when the show started

Earlier this month, the History Channel star took to Instagram to share a photo from the earliest days of his reality TV career. 

“This photo was sent to me by someone in production a few days ago. It was taken the day Frank and I shot the intro to American Pickers back in 2009,” he wrote, referring to his late costar Frank Fritz, who died in 2024. 

“We were in a junkyard in Georgia and were cold wore out and depleted,” Wolfe continued. “The first season we were on the road weeks at a time. One block I remember was 5 weeks. We had no idea what we were doing.” 

Wolfe added that he had been filming his and Fritz’s adventure for years, but that “it wasn’t structured content,” noting that the pair’s “passion along with hands on knowledge carried us.”

“We had a great team and we all felt like we were making something that mattered,” Wolfe recalled, before quoting the American Pickers tagline: “We make a living telling the history of America one piece at a time.” 

Has ‘American Pickers’ been canceled?

Wolfe and Fritz’s dream of sharing their trips through America’s backroads in search of hidden treasures came true – and it resonated with TV viewers. Today, American Pickers is in its 27th season. 

“Those words from that intro still mean something to me and my crew,” Wolfe wrote. “What Frankie and I dreamed of had finally come true. @history had handed us the ball… But we were the ones that took it over the finish line together.”

While new episodes of American Pickers are still airing on History Channel, the show’s future is uncertain. In late 2025, Wolfe’s longtime costar Danielle Colby said in a social media update that the show was “done.” However, a representative for History Channel told TV Insider that although the show wasn’t currently in production, filming could resume in 2026.

Meanwhile, Wolfe has another project in the works. History’s Greatest Picks with Mike Wolfe will follow Wolfe as he dives into the intriguing stories and astonishing values behind legendary treasures, relics, and artifacts from history. The new, eight-episode show premieres Sunday, February 22 at 9 p.m. ET. 

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