HISTORY channel has done an interactive follow-up show to their reality competition show called “American Pickers” that follows pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz from coast to coast looking for hidden treasures in strangers basements and attics. This follow-up show, called “Picked Off” is somewhat similar to “Fashion Star” in that it allows viewers to buy show featured items online at the end of the show.

“Picked Off” host (left) with experts.

“Picked Off” is hosted by former NFL player Keith Neubert who is also an actor and television writer/producer and creator. This new interaction reality competition show starts contestants off with a $100 budget and four teams compete in three challenges. Their finds are judged by Todd and Ethan Merrill who analyze the items in the Dealers’ Room. Whichever team does the best at picking the most valuable items wins a grand prize of $10,000

The producers of “Picked Off” were at the Comic Con this year where HOLLYWOOD JUNKET reporter Lincoln Blanco interviewed them about the show concept. They stated, “Picked Off a competition show that goes a step deeper into our ‘Pickers storyline. We have three sets of couples that go and look for the best pick and they bring it to these auction experts that decide what the value of those picks are and whatever the best value is then they win.”

Highest value wins $10,000

The cool interactive angle to “Picked Off” is that, in the same vain as NBC’s “Fashion Star”, viewers as home can purchase the items online. The producers of the show said, “all of those items that get picked throughout the episode are then put online for auction so anyone watching can then buy it themselves or auction for it – put in a bid. So that’s kind of new and we want the audience to have that interaction with us and that picking community. We touched such a pulse of interest in people who are recycling in their own way. Picking finding classics and putting it in their house and collecting. So between the collecting angle and the interaction on-air, we really think it will be a big hit for us.”

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They stated that the show is more of a competition show than a game show, “It’s more about competing to find the right value and what that means to the experts as well as to the folks who are doing the actual picking. What they like. Those people are the everyday people and they relate to our audience. What would make somebody buy this and what’s the value of it.”

“Picked Off” gives fans and audiences the opprotunity to share in a piece of the show by buying the finds in each episode, as one producer stated. “How many times do you watch TV and you see something on there where you go ‘oh that’s pretty cool I love that. What ends up happening is you go online and you find a replica of that or you have to hunt it down yourself or figure it out yourself. The ability for fans to go right online and bid on the actual items to know that not only are they getting a piece of memorabilia and television history, but they’re actually getting something they love and something they’ll use and display in their homes.”

“Picked Off” airs Wednesdays at 10/9 c on HISTORY. This week’s episode is called “Radio Fight” and the week after is titled “Firemen to the Rescue” which airs August 8, 2012.

Reported & Interviewed by: Lincoln Blanco