American Pickers is currently airing new episodes on History as part of the summer TV schedule, but not every former fan is on board with the new episodes. This mostly has to do with the History series previously firing Frank Fritz and replacing him with Mike’s brother Robbie Wolfe. The change has led to flack online for months, but has picked up again in the wake of Wolfe announcing that Fritz had been hospitalized after having a stroke. The longtime History host has stayed above the fray, however, choosing to share posts about picking and, of course, his other road trippin’ partner, Francie.
Mike Wolfe’s been busy sharing positive posts on Twitter and other social media, often about picking experiences or personal life moments. However, one of these recent posts highlights some examples of the fans still being upset about the lack of Frank and the inclusion of Robbie on the show. While the post itself was about negotiating for an “AP Simms Fine Whiskey jug,” an example of the type of response the reality star has been getting can be seen below.
Exactly right!! Robbie needs to stay behind the camera. Never on air!! Just not cut out for that position regardless if he is Mike’s brother or not. It’s embarrassing having him try to fill Frank’s shoes!August 2, 2022
This isn’t the first time fans have been upset over the Frank Fritz stuff on social media and doubtless it isn’t the last. Some fans really do seem to be feeling American Pickers needs Frank and have been vocal about it. These sorts of comments seemingly picked up again in the wake of the recent Frank Fritz hospitalization, but there seems to still be some lingering dissatisfaction around Frank and Mike breaking up the band. The ratings allegedly have been showing a decline in interest as well, although it’s worth noting TV ratings are down across the board as people continue to change their TV viewing habits.
Granted, there are some positive comments directed at Mike on the post. There are also some more comments that are pro-Frank that are a little more polite than the one above, including one that is positive about Robbie appearing on the show over the past couple of seasons.
Your bro is cool but the show isn’t the same without Frank. Im hoping he recovers and you all can reconcile your differencesJuly 30, 2022
For his part, Mike Wolfe has definitely been trying to stay above the fray. He’s shared a lot of Pickers-oriented posts recently, and went viral earlier this year after teasing a special project with motorcycle lover Jason Momoa. Possibly the most intriguing social addition he’s made is posting about his other new road trippin’ partner — aka not Robbie.
In fact, his dog Francie made another totally adorable appearance as his pal on the road just the other day, in fact. Look at that face!
Interest has likely been heightened around the series in recent weeks for a couple of reasons. As noted before, it was Mike who dropped the news about Frank’s hospitalization, and Wolfe’s rep later had to follow-up with a statement about “allowing him time to heal” after fans shared their thoughts about how things went down. Secondly, American Pickers happened to start airing new episodes on Saturdays again, reminding people that Frank is gone and Robbie is the replacement once more.
The good news? History could have canceled the series following all this brouhaha, but those who enjoy watching the picking can still check out new episodes — and reruns with Frank to boot — on the History channel. In the meantime, we’ll be sure to let you know if Frank’s camp ever comments about any of this stuff.