Gold Rush Fans Seem To Think Buzz Is The Best Member Of Fred's Crew
Fred Lewis became one of the principal mining operation leads on Discovery's gold mining reality show "Gold Rush" during Season 11, which premiered in October of 2020, and has remained a central cast member to this day. While Fred may be important to "Gold Rush" in its current incarnation, he's become something of a divisive presence among fans. For instance, "Gold Rush" fans criticized Fred in Season 13, Episode 18 when his crew gave the Clayton brothers equipment that almost immediately ended up breaking. Rather than take responsibility for the faulty gear, Fred's crew blamed the Claytons for the issue, which didn't sit right with a number of viewers.
In fact, Fred is well aware of his reputation among "Gold Rush" fans, at one point addressing some backlash to his presence on the show directly in a behind-the-scenes clip shared to the series' social media.
That said, Fred's absence from Season 13, Episode 10 caused a stir with certain viewers, and not entirely for negative reasons. While some appreciated the episode's lack of Fred, plenty of others missed his large personality. One particular highlight of Fred's "Gold Rush" tenure, it turns out, is Bastian Legault, nicknamed Buzz, who many fans have described as the best member of his crew bar none.
Fans of Gold Rush online all love watching Buzz
In the midst of "Gold Rush" Season 13 airing on Discovery, one user started a thread on the "Gold Rush" subreddit wondering whether or not they might be Fred Lewis crew member Buzz Legault's only fan. Numerous replies soon made it clear that Buzz's fanbase is sizable, and hardly limited to the thread's original poster.
Users Gusto36 and Greatwhitegorilla, for instance, both argued that Buzz needs a role greater than his current one with Fred, with the former angling for Buzz to take over Fred's job. "Buzz is the only one keeping those guys standing," wrote yopipo2486 of Buzz's importance to Fred's mining operation, concurring with this notion that Buzz is a series standout.
Meanwhile, user One_Background913 characterized Fred as someone angling for TV stardom, and Buzz as someone simply dedicated to mining, before criticizing some of Fred's actions throughout Season 13. "He's the star of the crew," wrote user loganxartX of Buzz.
On Twitter too, users like @mcmicmike and @Paul_O_Tix described Buzz as a "Gold Rush" highlight. So, while Fred may be a controversial among "Gold Rush" viewers, crew member Buzz is anything but, earning fans' admiration in spades.