THREE-RING CIRCUS American Pickers ratings for highly-anticipated carnival episode revealed after numbers drop to season low

AMERICAN Pickers ratings for the highly-anticipated carnival-themed episode have been revealed after numbers dropped to the lowest of the season.

Season 26 of American Pickers, which stars Mike and Robbie Wolfe, Jon “Jersey” Szalay and Danielle Colby, has struggled to bring in viewers.

The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal the November 6, 2024 episode Carnival Cashout had a surge in ratings with 547,000 viewers.

On the episode, Mike, 60, and Jersey, 61, checked out a four-generation carnival collection that featured carousel horses and bumper cars.

Fans couldn’t wait for the new episode, as one wrote on social media ahead of the show, “I’m going to love this! I always loved merry-go-round horses!”

A second commented, “I love carousels how amazing.”

The ratings boost comes after DIY Delorean, which aired on October 30, brought in the lowest ratings of the season with just 442,000 viewers.

The third episode of Season 26, The Great Razooly, saw a slight surge with 566,000 viewers on October 23, the highest of the season.

The second episode of the season, Wolfemen vs. The Automations, brought in just 463,000 viewers on October 16.

The premiere episode on October 9 brought in 565,000 fans as Mike picked through Evel Knievel memorabilia.

SEASON 25 RATINGS
The ratings for Season 26 are drastically low compared to last season.

Season 25 brought in 723,000 viewers for part one of the premiere and 676,000 for part two.

Episode three had 880,000 viewers tune in.

By the January 24 episode, ratings increased to 948,000 viewers.

The February 28 episode brought in 966,000 viewers.

The season finale on March 27 had 832,000 tune in.

SHOW STANDINGS
The most-watched show on History Channel is William Shatner’s UnXplained as of November 7.

The show explores the world’s “most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries.”

The November 1 episode brought in 696,000 viewers.

Proof is Out There and Mountain Men came in second and third, respectively, while American Pickers is the fourth most-watched show on the network.

FAN REACTION
Fans have even been calling for the show’s cancellation.

“This show needs to go… cancel this show it’s a husk of what it was,” one fan wrote.

Another said, “It was never good. This show ruined the buying/selling market.”

A third asked, “Will American Pickers continue?”

MORE PICKERS
But despite the ratings crisis and fan backlash, The U.S. Sun reported in May 2024 that the series has more seasons left in its contract.

“They’re filming for Season 26, and they have signed on for three more years,” the show insider claimed.

Mike revealed earlier this month that he will start filming for the new season soon.

MISSING FRANK
When original cast member Frank Fritz was on the show, ratings were over a million viewers.

Frank last appeared on American Pickers in March 2020.

He took time off to undergo back surgery, but in 2021 Mike revealed he was not returning to the series.

Frank told The U.S. Sun during a 2021 interview that he was feuding with his co-star Mike.

In an interview with People from earlier this month, Mike revealed why Frank did not return to the History Channel series.

He explained that during the pandemic, Frank injured his back and underwent surgery.

“With that time off and him having surgery, it was like the perfect storm. He became addicted to opioids, and that’s when everything changed,” Mike said.

Mike said he staged an intervention with Frank’s loved ones.

He claimed Frank continued to struggle with addiction when filming started, as they “fought really hard to get him into rehab” and he “never, ever gave up” on his friend.

Mike claimed production asked Frank for negative drug tests, but he didn’t provide them.

Mike said the network “just finally made the decision.”

A source claimed to The U.S. Sun about how Frank’s substance abuse battle began.

“Because of Frank’s battle with Crohn’s, he was on medication that left his bones weak. When he broke his back, he needed to undergo surgery.

“That’s when he got addicted to pain medication,” the insider claimed.

Crohn’s is a bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract.

The source alleged that Frank “went to rehab twice” to combat his addiction issues.

“He got out, and then he suffered the stroke,” the insider alleged.

In the July 2021 interview with The U.S. Sun, Frank revealed he entered treatment for alcohol abuse at The Abbey Center in Bettendorf, Iowa for 77 days.

He was sober for 11 months at the time of the interview.

HEALTH CRISIS
Frank then suffered a stroke at his Iowa farmhouse in July 2022.

Frank’s friends filed a guardianship and conservatorship for him because his “decision­-making capacity” was “so impaired.”

He passed away in hospice two years later on September 30, 2024, at 60 years old.

Despite the firing and feud, Mike and Frank ultimately made up.

Mike and other loved ones were by Frank’s side when he passed away in hospice.

Frank’s good friend Jerry Gendreau previously told The U.S. Sun how the series hasn’t been the same without the star.

“I think the show is not nearly as good as it was.

“With the ratings, it doesn’t have to be me or somebody thinking that, the nation knows it’s not what it was.

“It needed Frank.”