Chumlee Update: Is ‘Pawn Stars’ Fav Returning To Television? Why The Popular Show Could Soon End

Chumlee is back in action at the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop! Online, the Pawn Stars fav has been tweeting with fans. At the pawn shop, Chum has been involved in meet and greets, taking photos, signing autographs, and having lunch with Pawn Stars fans for a variety of selected charities. Now fans want to know, will Chumlee be back on the most popular History Channel show ever? Whether Chumlee returns or not, there are indications that although Pawn Stars will be filming soon, this may very well be their last season.

It has been six weeks since Chumlee accepted a plea deal that kept him any jail time. The Pawn Stars jokester has been sentenced to just three years of probation. Austin Lee Russell, Chumlee’s real name, has recently given an interview with News3LV promising he is back at the shop and will be making appearances on Pawn Stars. Chumlee is quite eager to regain his reputation and win back the league of fans that may have been disappointed or disillusioned by his surprise arrest and serious charges. He has been humbled by this experience and told the station that he appreciates the support of his fans.

“From the bottom of my heart I’m so thankful and grateful to have fans.”

.@chumlee_ raised more than $660 for @NoahAnimalHouse yesterday – way to go! Catch him at the shop this wknd! pic.twitter.com/cuBKsIsYcM

— Rick Harrison (@GoldSilverPawn) July 8, 2016

Despite his arrest, the History Channel must have realized that losing Chumlee would hurt ratings and they want to avoid a huge mistake. Perhaps they have stayed silent because they hoped the whole thing would boil over. The jokester is Pawn Stars‘ fan favorite on television and on social media.

But will Pawn Stars be on the air much longer?

In an interview with CBS News, back in January 2015, Rick Harrison, owner of the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, announced that he expected to continue filming Pawn Stars for about two more years. Rick explained that as he is the business owner and also appears on television, he is working every day, 12 hours a day. Harrison made a promise to his new wife that he would quit filming the show by January 2017 and cut back on extra duties.

“I promised my wife that after two years I’m massively going to slow down. I can’t work 12 hours a day, every day for too long before it burns out. So two more years and then I’m going to really slow down…The shop will still be around. The beautiful thing about my shop is that I get all my weird stuff.”

Doing some math, if the next season is filming in the fall, as Chumlee has hinted, this would mean that production would end at the end of the year. This matches up with the two-year mark that Rick set to end his time on Pawn Stars.

So, this leads fans to wonder, if owner Rick Harrison steps back from the show, will Pawn Stars end?

As with Chumlee’s arrest, History Channel has been mum about Rick’s planned departure. They have not answered if Pawn Stars will end. This is the highest-rated show for the History Channel, with an estimated 7 million viewers. Is it possible that the producers are considering some small changes to the popular show to keep it on the air? For example, what if they shuffled around the different members of the pawn shop?

Is it possible that Corey will replace Rick as the head of the company and show? This seems like a natural step as just a few years ago, “Big Hoss” Corey Harrison became a part-owner of the pawn shop. Perhaps Corey’s grandpa, “the old man,” will still be on the show. But the show favorite is definitely Chumlee. Could it be that the producers of the show remained mum during the time of Chum’s arrest and his plea deal because all along, they have been grooming Chumlee to do even more and Rick Harrison appear less on an altered Pawn Stars?

While Chumlee may act like an airhead, he is actually a very good business person. For example, he created a line of T-shirts, and Rick Harrison purchased 50 percent of Chumlee’s T-shirt company and sells the shirts at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. He also sells his own tennis shoes online. Chumlee is a natural to step up and be more prominent on a Rick-less Pawn Stars. He is great on camera and he is fabulous with fans. This is a win/win for the History Channel.

Right now, all is speculation. Harrison made a promise to quit the show by the beginning of 2017. That is just six months from now. At this time, the History Channel has yet to put out an official message about Rick Harrison’s intention to retire from Pawn Stars. The producers may be scampering to make this work with Corey, Chumlee, and Richard Sr, with an occasional visit from Rick. Most likely, the History Channel wants a seamless transition into the future and the recent Chumlee arrest has made it a bit more complicated.

Yet, this fav member of the Pawn Stars team has been working hard and winning back fans with his determination to move forward and leave his arrest behind him.

Will you still watch Pawn Stars if Rick Harrison leaves the show? Have you met Chumlee?

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]