Pawn Stars is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24-hour family business opened in 1989 and originally operated by patriarch Richard "Old Man" Harrison, his son Rick Harrison, Rick's son Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell. The series, which became the network's highest rated show, and the No. 2 reality show on television, behind Jersey Shore, debuted on July 19, 2009.
The series depicts the staff's interactions with customers, which consist of buying, selling, and pawning artifacts; haggling over the price, and discussing the artifacts' historical background, with narration provided by either the Harrisons or Chumlee.
The series also follows the interpersonal conflicts among the cast. One reviewer referencing these conflicts described the show as a version of Antiques Roadshow "hijacked by American Choppers Teutul family." TV Guide has offered a similar description, calling the show "one part Antiques Roadshow, a pinch of LA Ink and a dash of COPS."
Numerous local experts in a variety of fields also regularly appear to appraise the items being sold or pawned, two of whom have gone on to their own spin-off programs. Antique restorer/metal artist Rick Dale is the star of the series' first spin-off, American Restoration, which premiered in October 2010, and mechanic/auto restoration expert Danny "The Count" Koker stars in the second spin-off, Counting Cars, which debuted August 13, 2012.
The series has become a global phenomenon, broadcast in 150 countries and dubbed in 38 languages.
Production history and format The concept for Pawn Stars was conceived by Brent Montgomery and Colby Gaines of Leftfield Pictures, who were struck by the array of eclectic and somewhat seedy pawn shops in Las Vegas during a 2008 weekend visit to the city. Thinking such shops might contain unique characters, they searched for a family-run shop on which to center a TV series, until they found the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop less than two miles from the Las Vegas Strip. It had been the subject of a 2001 PBS documentary, and the manager and part-owner, Rick Harrison, had been trying unsuccessfully to pitch a show based on his shop for four years. Both the shop and Rick had previously been featured in the Las Vegas episode of Insomniac with Dave Attell in 2003., accessed September 19, 2009, July 13, 2011.
The series was originally pitched to HBO, which wanted the series to be a Taxicab Confessions-style series taking place at the Gold & Silver's night window. The format eventually evolved into the now-familiar family-oriented motif used in the series. The series was picked up by History president Nancy Dubuc, who was trying to create more mainstream programs to balance out the network's surfeit of in-depth military programming. The show was initially titled Pawning History before a staffer at Leftfield suggested that Pawn Stars would fit better with the locale, and the network agreed, believing that name to be more memorable. The name is an intentional pun on the phrase "porn stars". The show's storyline was tweaked to bring it in line with the network's brand, which included the addition of on-camera experts appraising the items brought into the Gold & Silver, although interpersonal conflicts among the show's stars were not discouraged.
The series is filmed on location at the World-Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although jewelry is the most commonly pawned item at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, most of the customers featured in Pawn Stars episodes bring in a variety of vintage or antique items to the store, which has 12,000 items in its inventory as of July 2011 (5,000 of which are typically held on pawn). Each episode consists of segments devoted to approximately five or six of these items in which one of the staff members, usually Rick Harrison, his son Corey, or Harrison's father Richard (known as the "Old Man"), explains the history behind the object. When the buyer is unable to evaluate an object, they consult with an expert who can evaluate it to determine its authenticity and potential value, and in the case of items needing repair, the cost of restoration or preparing the item for sale. Whoever is evaluating the object goes over the potential value with the customer, including the expert's opinion, if one is given, often interspersed with an interview in which he explains the basis of his decision to the viewer. A price tag graphic at the bottom corner of the screen displays the ever-changing dollar amount as the two negotiate over the item's price. On occasion, Rick will take the risk of purchasing items in need of restoration before determining their restoration costs, as demonstrated by his purchase of a marine chronometer in "Sharks and Cobras", and a barber's chair in "A Shot and a Shave"."
Also factoring into episode plots are narratives focusing on the relationships and conflicts among Rick, Corey, the Old Man, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell, who also works at the shop. Common conflicts include how to run the shop, the elder Harrisons questioning Corey's judgment, and aspersions cast on Chumlee's intelligence and competence.
Before the second commercial break, a multiple-choice trivia question related to the shop and its inventory, the cast members, or one of the featured items is shown, with the answer provided after the break; beginning with the Season 8 episode "A Very Vegas Christmas," a trivia question is asked at every commercial break.
In addition to spawning imitators and clones, such as the truTV series Hardcore Pawn, and History's own Cajun Pawn Stars, the success of Pawn Stars has been a boon to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, which has become a Las Vegas tourist site, and has expanded its business operations accordingly. Originally averaging between 70 and 100 customers per day, the shop's traffic increased to more than 1,000 per day by October 2010. To handle the increased business, the shop hired nearly 30 new employees,. "Before we had the television show, we had twelve employees. Now we have forty-seven." and underwent a $400,000 expansion of their showroom by two thirds, to 15,000 square feet, the shop's tenth expansion since it opened. Rick Harrison also mentioned in the Season 4 episode "Over the Top" that he was building a gym above the Pawn Shop for the staff's use. The shop also sells its own brand merchandise, the designs of which originate from fans entering design competitions on Facebook, which saves the Harrisons the cost of hiring professional designers. The staff's presence on Facebook and Twitter also ensures audiences during local nightclub appearances, for which Corey Harrison and Chumlee Russell are paid $1,000 a night. However, as a result of filming at the shop, the four main cast members can only work the main counter during shoot days. This is due to laws requiring the identities of customers pawning items to remain confidential, and tourists and fans taking photos and video in the showroom would preclude this. When shooting episodes of the series, the store is temporarily closed to the public, with only a handful of vetted customers allowed into the showroom.
In July 2011, Harrison signed a record-breaking 80-episode renewal contract for four more seasons of the series.
After being broadcast during its first four years on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, the program moved to Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET on May 30, 2013, replacing Swamp People, which moved an hour later to 10 p.m. ET. The program also received a new opening and theme song, "Winning Isn't Everything," performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The opening was replaced again with different theme music from an uncredited artist on June 12, 2014.
Episodes
Cast
Main shop staff Richard "Rick" Kevin Harrison – Co-founder/co-owner of the pawn shop. The son of "The Old Man" Richard and father of "Big Hoss" Corey, he has earned the nickname "The Spotter" due to his sharp eye for rare and valuable items. He started in the pawn business at the age 13. Rick co-founded the "Gold & Silver" pawn shop with his father in 1989, at the age of 23. Boasting that "Gold & Silver" is the only family-owned pawn shop in Las Vegas, Rick says he dropped out of high school in the tenth grade because he was making $2,000 a week selling fake Gucci bags. An avid reader since childhood, his favorite area of historical study is the Royal Navy, from the late 1700s to the early 1800s."Ask the Pawn Stars". Pawn Stars on History. Facebook. August 28, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012. Harrison also appears on United Stuff of America, an H2 series from the producers of Pawn Stars that focuses on notable artifacts that were used in important moments in history, which premiered in June 2014. Richard Benjamin "The Old Man" Harrison – Rick's father, Corey's grandfather, and the founder/co-owner of the pawn shop,Rick claims in "Steaks at Stake" to own 50% of the store, but Richard insists that Rick owns only 49%. which he opened in 1989 with his son Rick. He was usually referred to by his nickname, "The Old Man," which he earned at age 38, according to the episode "Fired Up." The Lexington, North Carolina, native and 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, was the first to arrive at the shop in the morning, and had not had a sick day since 1994. He was especially passionate about automobiles, showing an interest in all types of cars,His passion for cars is mentioned in the first season episode "Rope a Dope" and the third season episode "Honest Abe." He mentions in the second season episode "Sharks and Cobras" that he has owned 40 cars in his life. from the 1966 Chrysler Imperial his son and grandson had restored for his 50th wedding anniversary to the mid-1960s B&Z Electra-King electric car shown to them in "Honest Abe," which he suggested could be converted into a golf cart. In the episode that aired on July 31, 2017, it was mentioned that he was retired. Harrison died in June 2018.
Corey Harrison – Rick's son and Richard's grandson, who is nicknamed "Big Hoss." and started working at the shop at age nine, polishing jewelry. He is now the manager of the shop's day-to-day operations, makes the most purchases of anyone in the shop and is being groomed by Rick to be the boss one day. Corey often comes into conflict with his father and grandfather over his knowledge of the shop's inventory,His father quizzes him on this in "Rick's Big Bet". his responsibilities as a manager,Examples include Rick's reaction to the purchase of a stolen item in "John Hancock's Hancock," and his perception of Corey's laziness in motivating staff people like Chumlee to keep the back storage area organized, as well as putting rare items on display at the shop instead of in the backroom in "Backroom Brawl." and his overall judgment in sales,Examples include Corey and the Old Man's bet in "Confederate Conundrum" that Corey could not sell a restored Rolex GMT watch for more than $4,800. in particular his purchases of expensive items.Examples include his purchase of a boat in "Sink or Sell," despite his father's policy against buying boats, and his $38,000 purchase of a hot air balloon in "Hot Air Buffoon," despite his father's rule requiring him to consult him first when paying more than $10,000 for an item. Following gastric lap band surgery in 2010 and a change to his diet, Harrison's weight went down from to approximately by July 2014. In Season 6, he tells the elder Harrisons that he will take a job at another business if he is not given a 10% partnership in the shop. He remains with the shop after he is given a raise and a 5% partnership with the possibility of a greater stake in the business in the future.