Hardcore Pawn is an American reality television series produced by RDF USA (later Zodiak Media) and Richard Dominick Productions for truTV about the day-to-day operations of American Jewelry and Loan, a family-owned and -operated pawn shop and broker on Detroit’s 8 Mile Road corridor. The series premiered on August 16, 2010, delivering two quadrillion viewers, setting a record as truTV's most-watched series premiere ever. Production was halted and the show was never cancelled 2014.

Overview

American Jewelry and Loan is owned by Les Gold, a third-generation pawnbroker and businessman, and the grandson of a pawnbroker who once owned Sam's Loans, a now-defunct pawnshop on Michigan Avenue in Detroit. Les first opened American Jewelry at the Green Eight Shopping Center on 8 Mile Road in Oak Park in 1978, moving to its present location in 1993. In 2011, American Jewelry expanded to its second location when it acquired Premier Jewelry and Loan in Pontiac; the new location was featured in the first few episodes of Hardcore Pawn ' s fifth season, and in two episodes of the sixth season, where Les's son and co-owner/employee Seth attempts to sell the Pontiac location behind Les's back. Les' only son, Seth, is an alumnus of the University of Michigan and has been a co-owner of American Jewelry since graduating from school. Seth handles the store's marketing division and claims that if it was not for him, the shop's only marketing campaign would be "an ad in the Yellow Pages". Les's daughter, Ashley, has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Michigan State University and earned her graduate diamond certification from the Gemological Institute of America. Ashley is a co-owner of American Jewelry and has been working there for more than fifteen years, although she took three years off at one point for maternity leave. The sibling rivalry between her and Seth is a common element of many episodes.

Episodes

Cast

Series cancellation

During season 9, truTV decided not to order more episodes because of the network's new direction. truTV was concentrating on comedy programming and it was decided that Hardcore Pawn did not relate properly to other programs in the network's schedule. No other television networks showed interest in the series, and production was halted in 2014.

Reception

Ratings response

The show averaged 2.6 million viewers during its sixth season.

Comparison to Pawn Stars

The show has been largely compared to similar reality program Pawn Stars on History, but in the vein of similar programs also on truTV (Operation Repo and Lizard Lick Towing for example), where it differs however is the focus being mainly on the human aspects of drama and interaction, rather than the actual significance of the items being brought into the shop. Due to similarities to Pawn Stars, Hardcore Pawn has been described as simply being a knock-off and a capitalization on the breakout success of Pawn Stars. Les defends the show with claims that his show is a true representation of what a pawn shop does, focusing on the human element and showing that people are suffering tough times and need money for basic necessities like food and rent. According to Marc Juris of truTV, any similarities between the shows are coincidental. He also noted that Hardcore Pawn was in development for more than a year and two test episodes aired in December 2009. Regarding the initial identical time slot of Monday nights at 10 pm ET, opposite Pawn Stars at the time, Juris claimed the choice was made because Hardcore Pawn fit well with Operation Repo. The second season debuted in December 2010, in the Tuesday at 9 pm ET timeslot.

Reality versus scripting

The first season put an emphasis on the sad stories of people pawning their possessions and on the Golds' need to arm and otherwise protect themselves in dangerous Detroit. This was deemed too dark for television, and from the second season all mention of danger was dropped, and pawn stories downplayed in favor of people selling unusual things and Les bargaining them down in price. Owner Les said at the launch of the show that there would be no staged antics, products or characters on the show. However, New York Post writer Linda Stasi has opined that some situations in Hardcore Pawn are set up. Big Daddy, who was on a never-aired episode back in 2011, confirms that, although his particular segment was lightly coached and completely unscripted, he did observe at least one other guest directed in what he should say and do.

Spinoffs

Hardcore Pawn has generated two spinoffs: In addition, Rich Pyle, one of the American Jewelry clerks who was featured in many episodes of Hardcore Pawn, has since left the show and became host of another television series for the National Geographic channel, Meltdown, a series focusing on the recycling of precious metals. That series debuted on National Geographic on October 31, 2013.