‘American Pickers’ Ratings Drop – And Mike Wolfe’s $14k Purchase Did Nothing To Help

The first American Pickers episode of the year featured Mike Wolfe making a big purchase out of country singer Hank Williams Jr.’s collection of bejeweled suits and pieces made by designer Nudie Cohn. He bought a blue outfit and a few others totaling $14,000.

He showed off Hank’s outfits on his Instagram, and fans were equally amazed by the quality. “I have a once-in-a-lifetime brush with country music stardom,” he wrote. Despite the whopping spending, American Pickers’ ratings have been dropping significantly, threatening the continuation of the show.

‘American Pickers’ drop in ratings raises concerns

Reports say that the January 1 episode experienced a significant decline in ratings from the previous episode, which had up to 760,000 viewers. This time, only 595,000 fans watched the show, revealing a wide gap. The same occurred with November 27’s show, which was 39,000 viewers more than the next.

The lowest ratings of the season came from the “DIY Dolorean” episode in October, with 442,000 viewers, followed by “Wolfemen vs. The Automation,” which brought in just 463,000 people. The reasons for these drastic fluctuations might be due to the absence of Frank Fritz, who died last year.

Fans call for the cancellation of ‘American Pickers’

Some fans think American Pickers has run its course and should be canceled, noting that the show has become a shadow of itself. “It was never good. This show ruined the buying/selling market,” someone argued. Contrary to critique, American Pickers has been renewed for three more years after season 26.

Per Wolfe’s latest big purchase, his Instagram followers thought the outfits were worth the price and cheered him in the comments section. “Wow, Awesome collection. Thank you for sharing Mike,” someone said, while another bragged about their own Nudie piece, saying it makes them feel 400 percent cooler.