End of an Era: Downtown Las Vegas-Based “Pawn Stars” is Done
It was the TV juggernaut nobody expected to be a thing. But it was. “Pawn Stars” ran for 21 seasons, but is no longer under contract with the History Channel.
The Las Vegas-based “reality” series has had a lasting impact on reality TV, the public perception of pawn shops, the understanding and appreciation of American history and its artifacts, not to mention tourism downtown.
All good things must come to an end, however. Let’s spend 6-8 minutes reflecting, shan’t we?
“Pawn Stars” featured the family-run Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.
The series featured Rick Harrison, his father Richard Harrison (“The Old Man,” who passed away in 2018), Rick’s son Corey Harrison and family friend Austin “Chumlee” Russell.
The show also featured other pawn shop staff and expert appraisers.
Real people doing real stuff, at least in the beginning.
As the show caught on, it became History’s highest-rated show. It appeared in more than 150 countries around the world.
“Pawn Stars” became a global phenomenon.
Over time, success had some inevitable fallout. Cast members got into legal trouble, including Rick Harrison being sued by his own mother at one point, Russell being charged with drug and weapons possession and Corey Harrison being arrested for DUI, among other kerfuffles.
Family tragedies have included the death of Rick Harrison’s son (who didn’t participate in the TV show), Adam Harrison, who died in 2024 from an accidental drug overdose.
The popularity of the show made taping in the actual pawn shop impossible.
The show was taped in a duplicate studio behind the scenes at Gold & Silver Pawn. We wrote all about it.
As time went by, the show became more tightly scripted and contrived, but there was still a good amount of charm and the thrill of patrons discovering their artifacts were worth much more (or much, much less) than they expected.
The show made lots of local businesses famous.
We’ve interacted with various members of the cast over the years, interviewing Rick and Chum about various projects, including a trivia app and the opening of Chumlee’s candy store at Pawn Plaza, a shopping center made up of shipping containers next to the pawn shop.
As mentioned, the success of “Pawn Stars” surprised a lot of people, including the people involved.
Technically, those involved with “Pawn Stars” are saying it’s on “hiatus.” The show, as we’ve known it, is done.
The cast is wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, and the pawn shop continues to do brisk business, making as much from “Pawn Stars” merchandise as from gold bars, jewelry and power tools.
“Pawn Stars” will live on in reruns and memes, and the shop is a must-visit in Las Vegas, just for old times’ sake.
It’s time for another Vegas-based reality series to fill the void created by the end of “Pawn Stars.” Casino-based, please. Downtown, preferably.
Fremont Street Experience spent a million dollars on a (loosely) scripted faux “reality” series, “The Downtown Vegas Reality Show,” that is caught up in legal and unlikely to ever see the light of day. Which is probably for the best. You know it was rough because the producer asked us to help with the scripts when we worked at Fremont Street Experience (FSE).
The “industry-renowned sales agent doing the rounds with broadcasters to get someone to acquire the distribution rights” was horseshit and resulted in zip. The series was a vanity project for the former president of FSE, Patrick Hughes. Long story.
Nothing can ever replace “Pawn Stars,” but somebody please just let cameras follow all the characters downtown around and it will be a guaranteed smash hit.
Our snarky narration is available at a reasonable cost.
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