‘American Pickers’ Fans Threaten to Boycott Show Over Frank Fritz’s Exit

American Pickers fans have threatened to boycott the show amid the continued drama surrounding Frank Fritz‘s exit. Fritz, an American Pickers original who starred alongside Mike Wolfe for nearly a decade before stepping back from the show amid health issues, was confirmed in August not to be returning, History Channel instead opting to part ways with him and continue the series with Wolfe going solo. That decision, however, could lead to a mass exodus of viewers.

Although Fritz and Wolfe for years appeared side-by-side on the History Channel series traveling across the country and turning other people’s trash into treasure, their friendship seemingly hit a roadblock. In July, Fritz revealed that he had not spoken to Wolfe in two years. He told The Sun that his former co-star did not reach out to him following his back surgery. Not long after, History confirmed that Fritz would not return to the series. Although Wolfe released a statement calling his time with Fritz “the most rewarding” experience and saying he would miss him, Fritz blasted the statement as “bulls–.”

Amid the drama, fans seem to be taking Fritz’s side. When the official American Pickers Twitter account released a first-look teaser for the July 26 episode, the backlash was immediate, with the comments on all of the accounts subsequent posts coming from fans threatening to boycott the show amid Fritz’s exit.

​

“Sorry show not the same without Frank,” tweeted one person. “in my opinion it was the way that Mike and Frank interacted with each other that made the show enjoyable, not anymore. .will no longer watch.”

​

“I have been a AP fan since it first started & have almost never missed an episode. Until now,” wrote another viewer. “I’d rather you dumped Rob or Danielle rather than Frank. The new episodes are a shadow of what they were when it was just Mike and Frank. I’ll start watching again if/when Frank returns.”

​

“Well, well was going to watch. But nope not without Frank,” responded another former fan. “Frank was fun and brought the humor. Bye.”

​

“One of my favorite show,” shared somebody else. “To bad I will no longer watch it because no Frank and how Mike has handled the ole thing.”

​

“It’s not worth watching without Frank. Last few weeks I was hoping it would be the episode that he returns. Now we know, he’s not returning so I’m not watching anymore,” tweeted one person.

​

“History Channel and American Pickers will havr one less viewer by the way Frank was treated!” wrote another person. “Obviously you guys have NO understanding of addiction or alcoholism!! Letting my Recovery family know also, we’re talking thousands of brothers and sisters!”

​

“I have been watching American Pickers since I was a kid. And it’s always been Mike and Frank for me. They inspired me to go picking myself,” shared another. “But I can’t watch the show anymore until Frank is back. It’s not the same for me.”