Market Warriors Cancelled
The "Market Warriors" pickers. From L-R: John Bruno, Bene Raia, Miller Gaffney, and Kevin Bruneau. Credit: Courtesy of Anthony Tieuli for Market Warriors 2012 Producer: WGBH
Market Warriors seemed to have the makings of a hit TV show. From the producers of the American version of Antiques Roadshow--for many years, PBS' most popular series--Warriors had a telegenic cast, a solid premise and a plum, post-Roadshow timeslot. Unfortunately, it never caught on the way that any of us hoped.
I've known about this since last week, but an article published Saturday in the public broadcasting industry newspaper Current made it official: Market Warriors will not see a second season. PBS has declined to produce any more episodes past the initial order of twenty.
I know that I'm disappointed. I was really looking forward to this one. Even after original narrator Fred Willard was shown the door when he reminded us all that X-rated theaters still exist, I felt confident that success was inevitable. Perhaps I was blinded by the blondeness of picker Miller Gaffney; I could've watched her rifle through antiques all day. Even so, I did begin to wonder why--at least in the episodes I watched--none of the expert pickers seemed to make much of a profit.
The final installment will air on WILL-TV Monday, April 22 at 8:00 pm CT.