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,[2] a 24-hour family business operated by patriarch Richard "Old Man" Harrison, his son Rick Harrison, who opened the shop with his father in 1988, Rick's son Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, who has worked there since childhood, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell. The show, which became the network's highest rated show,[3][4] and the No. 2 reality show behind Jersey Shore, debuted on July 26, 2009. Reruns can be seen on History as well as its sister network Lifetime, which added the show in December 2010.[5][6]
The series depicts the staff's interactions with customers, who bring in a variety of artifacts to sell or pawn and who are shown haggling over the price and discussing its historical background, with narration provided by the Harrisons and occasionally 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 Chopper's" Teutul family.[7] TV Guide has offered a similar description, calling the show "one part Antiques Roadshow, a pinch of LA Ink and a dash of COPS".[8]
Numerous local experts in a variety of fields also regularly appear to appraise the items being sold or pawned, two of whom having gone on to their own spinoff programs. Antique restorer/metal artist Rick Dale is the star of the series' first spin-off American Restoration, which premiered in October 2010,[9][10][11] and mechanic/auto restoration expert Danny "The Count" Koker stars in the third spinoff, Counting Cars, which debuted August 13, 2012.[12][13] Cameo appearances have been made by Bob Dylan, Jeremy McKinnon, Meredith Vieira, the Oak Ridge Boys, George Stephanopoulos, Matt Kenseth and Steve Carell.[14]
Contents [hide]
1 Production history and format
1.1 Episodes
2 Cast
2.1 Main shop staff
2.2 Minor shop staff
2.3 Recurring experts
3 Reception
3.1 U.S. television ratings
3.2 Critical reception
3.3 Awards and honors
3.4 Legal issues
4 Spinoffs and similar series by Leftfield
5 Merchandise
6 International television broadcasts
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Production history and format

Pawn Stars began with 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,[15] whose manager, Rick Harrison, had been trying unsuccessfully to pitch a show based on his shop for four years,[16][17] and who had been featured in the Las Vegas episode of Insomniac with Dave Attell in 2003.[18]
The series was originally pitched to HBO, though the network preferred the series to have been a Taxicab Confessions-style series taking place at the Gold & Silver's night window.[19] The format eventually evolved into the now-familiar family-oriented motif used on the series.[20] History president Nancy Dubuc, who had been charged with creating programming with a more populist appeal to balance out the network's in-depth military programming, picked up the series, which was initially titled Pawning History, before a staffer at Leftfield suggested that Pawn Stars would fit better with the locale.[21] The network concurred, believing that name to be more pleasing and easily remembered.[20] The staffer adjusted its storyline in order to bring it in line with the network's brand, which included the on-camera experts appraising the items brought into the Gold & Silver, though she did not discourage the interpersonal conflicts among the show's stars.[15]
The opening title sequence features Rick Harrison narrating the following introduction:
“ I'm Rick Harrison, and this is my pawn shop. I work here with my Old Man and my son, "Big Hoss." Everything in here has a story - and a price. One thing I've learned after 21 years: You never know what is gonna come through that door. ”
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,[22] most of the customers featured in 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[23] (5,000 of which are typically held on pawn).[24] Each episode consists of segments devoted to approximately five or six of these items, in which either Harrison, his son, Corey, or Harrison's father Richard (known as the "Old Man"), explain the history behind the object. Whoever is evaluating the object goes over potential value with the customer, 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 provides the ever-changing dollar amount as the two haggle over the item's price. When the Harrisons are unable to evaluate an object, they consult with a knowledgeable expert who can evaluate it to determine its authenticity and potential value, and in the case of items needing repair, the cost of restoration. Following that, they are shown haggling over the price with the customer. On occasion, Rick will purchase items in need of restoration before determining its restoration costs, thus taking a risk on such costs.[25] Interpersonal narratives focusing on the relationship and conflicts among Harrison, Corey, the Old Man, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell, who also works at the shop, are also shown. These usually pertain to arguments over the running of the shop, the elder Harrisons questioning Corey's judgment,[26][27] and aspersions cast on Chumlee's intelligence and competence.[28] 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.
In addition to spawning imitators, such as the truTV series Hardcore Pawn, the success of Pawn Stars has been a boon to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, which has become a Las Vegas tourist site,[20] and has expanded its business accordingly. Originally averaging between 70 and 100 customers per day, the shop's traffic increased to more than 1,000 by October 2010. To handle the increased business, the shop hired nearly 30 new employees,[29] and underwent a $400,000 expansion of their showroom by two thirds, to 15,000 square feet,[15][20] the shop's tenth expansion since it opened.[30] Rick Harrison also mentioned in the fourth season episode "Over the Top" that he was building a gym above the Pawn Shop for the staff's use.[31] The shop also now sells its own brand merchandise, whose designs 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.[3] As a result of filming at the shop, however, the four main cast members no longer work the counter, due to laws that require the identity of customers pawning items to remain confidential, and the tourists and fans taking photos and video in the showroom that would preclude this. When shooting episodes of the series, the shop is temporarily closed, with only a handful of customers allowed into the showroom.[32]
In July 2011, Harrison signed a record-breaking 80-episode renewal contract for four more seasons of the series.[3]
Episodes
Main article: List of Pawn Stars episodes
Cast

Main shop staff
Richard (Rick) Kevin Harrison[33] – 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 of "The Spotter" due to his sharp eye for valuable items. He started in the pawn business at age 13.[34][35][36] Rick co-founded the "Gold & Silver" pawn shop with his father in 1988, at the age of 23.[34] 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.[34] An avid reader since childhood, his favorite area of historical study in is the British Navy, from the late 1700s to the early 1800s.[37]
Richard Benjamin "The Old Man" Harrison[38] – Born March 4, 1941,[16] he is Rick's father and Corey's grandfather, and the founder/co-owner of the pawn shop,[36] which he opened in 1988,[20] with his son, Rick. He is usually referred to by his nickname, "The Old Man",[39] which he earned at age 38, according to the episode "Fired Up".[1] Originally from Lexington, North Carolina,[40] he is the first to arrive at the shop in the morning,[41] and has not had a sick day since 1994.[42] He is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy. He is particularly passionate about automobiles, showing an interest in all types of cars,[43] from the 1966 Chrysler Imperial his son and grandson had restored for his 50th wedding anniversary[44] 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.[45]
Richard Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison – Rick's son and Richard's grandson,[46] who started at the shop at age nine, polishing jewelry.[31][47][48] He is now the manager of the shop's day-to-day operations, and 30 of its employees,[49] makes the most purchases of anyone in the shop,[50] 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,[51] his responsibilities as a manager,[26] and his overall judgment in sales,[52] in particular his purchase of expensive items.[27] Following gastric lap band surgery in 2010 and a change to his diet, Harrison's weight went down from 365 lb (166 kg) to approximately 250 lb (113 kg) by July 2011.[53] 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.[54] 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.[55]
Austin "Chumlee" Russell[56] – Corey's childhood friend, employed for five years at the time of the first season,[57][58] having started at the shop when he was 21.[59] Chumlee was given his nickname at age 12 by the father of a childhood friend, who named him after the walrus sidekick of Tennessee Tuxedo.[56][60][61][62] He does behind-the-counter work at the shop, such as testing the items, loading them,[61] and writing the tickets for items purchased by others.[63] He is often the butt of the others' jokes for his perceived lack of intelligence and his incompetence,[28][61] for which he has been referred to as a "village idiot".[1][57][62][64] Chumlee has responded to this by explaining that he is underestimated, and points to his expertise in pinball machines, which he utilizes in the second season episode "Pinball Wizards", much to Corey's surprise, as an example of one of the areas in which he is knowledgeable.[65] As a result of the show, Russell formed his own company, which sells novelty items, including T-shirts of his own design, and arranges for his personal appearances. He sold half of the company in 2010 to Harrison for $5,000, so that the shop could handle orders of his merchandise more efficiently.[66]
Minor shop staff
Danielle "Peaches" Rainey[49] – One of the shop staff members. In the episode "Rope a Dope", she is punished for her habitual tardiness by being put on the graveyard shift with Chumlee, who harbors an unrequited affection for her. She reluctantly helps Rick appraise a box of Playboy magazines in "Peaches & Pinups", despite her distaste for the task. She helps the Old Man by discussing Chumlee's whereabouts in "Chum Goes AWOL". She is also seen socializing with the other shop staff in the closing scene of "Confederate Conundrum".
Olivia Black[67] – A night shift employee hired in the fifth season. She is among the applicants favored by Corey and Chumlee, due to her attractiveness, when they screen the applicants in "Learning the Ropes". She is hired after being further interviewed by Rick and the Old Man in "Crosby, Stills and Cash", and begins her training in "Les is More". In "Corey's Big Burn", she is shown working with night shift customers with Chumlee, though Rick and the Old Man express concern that the double shifts Chumlee is working as a result of volunteering to train her (which they perceive to be motivated solely by his attraction to her) might be too much for him. Black was fired from the show on December 19, 2012 when her 2008 nude modeling work for the soft porn website SuicideGirls was revealed.[68][69] Though fired from the series, she was not fired from the shop, where she continues to work, albeit off-camera. She also returned to SuicideGirls, and shot a new pictorial for them four days after her firing.[70]
Antwaun Austin[71][72] – The shop's 6' 5"[73] security guard.[71] Usually seen in the background, Antwaun sometimes sells store T-shirts to people who come in, helps customers bring in large items, and when necessary, removes customers who are unruly or disruptive.[73] In "Flight of the Chum", for example, he attempts to intervene when a seller becomes irate after Rick informs him that the Perseus statue he brought into the shop is not an original by Émile Louis Picault, but a copy. He features heavily in an episode storyline for the first time in the fourth season "Teacher's Pet", in which he is revealed to have worked at the shop for three years, and is tutored by Chumlee on negotiating prices and discerning genuine gold.[71] When he later prepares to take a few days off in "Security", he in turn tutors Chumlee on how to work the door.[74]
Fat Back – An in-house mechanic, who also provides appraisals on the condition of vehicles.[75]
Johnny – An in-house mechanic, and an expert in racing and other sporting memorabilia.[76]
Scott – One of the shop's part-time employees, who spends much of his time at flea markets and estate sales, purchasing items that Rick will purchase from him to sell in the shop.[77]
Andy – The shop's head of security. He first features prominently in a storyline in the sixth season episode "Shekel and