After being forced by COVID to cancel their filming for the 2020, Antiques Roadshow is back out touring the country in preparation for Season 26. The longest running appraisal show on TV and winner of 18 Emmy Awards has made some changes to their traditional format. In an effort to create a COVID-friendly atmosphere the crowds of people will be replaced with small independent groups and social distancing will be practiced whenever possible. Also absent from the 2020 season will be the familiar Roadshow sound stage, as the majority of the filming will be done outside.
In previous years approximately 6,000 tickets were made available through local ticket agencies in each area the show visited. This year there will be no lines of thousand waiting to get in to have their items viewed by one of the Roadshow experts. Instead contestants will apply to win an invitation to have the Roadshow experts appraise their prize antiques. Those selected will have their air time taped on a closed set that will be open only to them, their appraiser and a small production staff. This years location include: Middletown, Connecticut, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, Long Island, New York, Williamsburg, Virginia and Hamilton, New Jersey. Each of these areas is rich in history and known for their quality antiques so we should be in for some interesting episodes.
While the new format may take some getting used to it will be much closer to the original show that the “celebrity” appraisals that were compiled to make up the 2020 season of the show. In an attempt to appease fans during the height of the pandemic the producers assembled a group of 17 public figures and condensed their interviews into 3 one-hour shows. Those interviewed included comedian Jay Leno, professional golfer Dottie Pepper, actress S. Epatha Merkerson, author Jason Reynolds and Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. The response from the viewing public was lukewarm and there are no plans to repeat this format in the future.
The Roadshow has visited Indianapolis twice. Those shows aired in 2001 and 2017. You will occasionally see a rerun of one of the stops here in Indy where Hoosiers made a great showing with treasured family heirlooms like rare books, Eli Lilly collectibles, Overbeck pottery, an 1821 signed copy of Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass,” and a 1928 New York Yankees baseball signed by the entire team. Then there were the less obvious submissions brought for the appraisers consideration like the table lovingly carried in by a tiny little woman from Rushville, Indiana. She told her appraiser that her family didn’t really think it would be worth much, but she loved it and brought it anyway. You can imagine her joy when it turned out to be an 1750’s tilt-top Chippendale table and one 50 items (from 6,300 viewed} selected to receive air time at the 2001 show.
Roadshow has served as an educational tool for novice collectors and experts alike since it first aired in 1997. But, it is more than a source for information. Their is an emotional element to the show that captivates the heart and leaves one feeling as though we too might one day pick up a piece at the Salvation Army that turns out to be valuable. Or, maybe that painting that Great Uncle Jed left us (the one we keep hidden away in the attic) might be worth thousands. We see it happen to people, just like us, every week on Roadshow and that is what keeps us tuning in.
They say that nothing lasts forever and even with over 8 million viewers a week you have to wonder how long the show could keep going. In a recent interview Marsh Bemko, the show’s executive producer, was asked about the future of the show. “ I would not be surprised to see it go on for another 25 years,” came her fast reply. And so, it very well may. Until next time . . . Linda
Linda Kennett is a professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and may be reached at 317-258-7835 or lkennett@indy.rr.com