The International Versions Of Pawn Stars That You Probably Didn't Know Existed
"Pawn Stars" has been a hit for History for over a decade. The reality series about the fascinating deals that go down at Las Vegas' Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and the colorful characters who work at the shop — the Harrison family and their goofy employee Austin "Chumlee" Russell — premiered in 2009 and has run for 17 seasons and counting.
It's a simple show with an endlessly repeatable premise. As long as people bring interesting items into the store to sell, the show can continue. Its success and simplicity spawned several spinoffs, none of which were as successful as "Pawn Stars" and have mostly ended. "American Restoration" ran for seven seasons, "Cajun Pawn Stars" for four, and game show "Pawnography" for two. The most successful spinoff, "Counting Cars," about car customization shop Count's Kustoms, is returning for its 10th season next month. There have also been shows made by "Pawn Stars" producer Leftfield Pictures with similar premises that aren't technically "Pawn Stars," spinoffs, like "Oddities" and "Ball Boys."
If you're a "Pawn Stars" fan, you've probably heard about these spinoffs and similar shows and have maybe tuned in for a few episodes. But you might not know about the international editions of the show, which all ran between 2013 and 2015.
Pawn Stars UK
The first international edition of "Pawn Stars" was "Pawn Stars UK," which lasted for two seasons. It was set at a shop called Regal Pawn in Seaford, Flintshire, Wales, which, like Gold & Silver, was a family business. It was run by the Manning family: father "Big Mark" Manning, son Mark "Marco" Manning, and daughter Vicki Manning, along with Big Mark's best friend "Little Mark" Holland.
Just like on "Pawn Stars," they bought collectibles, antiques, and interesting historical items from people who came into the store, after investigating the authenticity of the items. The items, however, were distinctly British and included a funeral pass that had belonged to the Duke of Wellington, a replica Spitfire fighter plane, and a suit worn by Charlie Chaplin, according to Cheshire Live.
The show premiered in 2013 and ended in 2014, and in 2015, Regal Pawn shut down under mysterious circumstances, according to North Wales Live.
Pawn Stars South Africa
The second international edition of "Pawn Stars" was "Pawn Stars South Africa," which ran for two seasons between 2014 and 2015.
The South African version was set at the Cash Inn Pawn Shop in Johannesburg, focusing on owner Roy Peretz, his partners Eytan Nadler and Liel Rimon, and employees Solly Mabasa and Irene Bower.
"'Pawn Stars SA' is a fresh and funny look at South Africa's history through weird and unusual objects under sunny skies," is how Peretz described the show to the local newspaper the Randburg Sun back in 2014. "We meet the most interesting people and see the weirdest things," he said. "One's garbage is another one's treasure, and in this season we saw a lot of treasure. Some of the items in this show will give you goosebumps. It will change your perception of pawn shops."
Objects seen on the show included ritual masks, Zulu spears, and a coin from the Boer War, which took place from 1899 to 1902.
Unlike Regal Pawn, Cash Inn is still in business.
Pawn Stars Australia
The third and final international version of "Pawn Stars" was "Pawn Stars Australia," which ran for a single season in 2015.
"Pawn Stars Australia" was set at another family-run pawn shop owned by brothers Aaron and Ben Senes who, alongside their childhood friend Shanon Folden, run a chain of pawn shops in Sydney called Happy Hockers. The show was set at their Bondi location and featured uniquely Australian items like a leather jacket that allegedly belonged to late INXS singer Michael Hutchence, per the Daily Telegraph, and an enormous taxidermy marlin head.
The show may not have lasted very long, but Happy Hockers is still going strong.
There have been no other international incarnations of "Pawn Stars" to date, and it seems as if Leftfield Pictures has given up on trying to recapture the success of the original. After all, none of the other versions have the Harrisons and Chumlee, and their personalities and dynamics are a huge part of why the show has been such a hit for so long. That chemistry just can't be imitated.