The Secret About Pawn Stars You Weren't Supposed To Know

Pawn Stars has established itself as one of the most beloved family shows out there. Fans have been tuning in for over a decade to watch one man's trash turned into another's treasure. The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on the Las Vegas strip has become a draw not only for those looking to unload valuables, but for fans of the show as well. 

Viewers have come to love the historical deep dive into an item that happens on the show. They also love seeing if the pawning experts will produce big bucks for the trinket ahead of them. It's small-time drama compared to other reality shows, but it can be wholesome and fun to watch. 

Despite the show's success, Rick Harrison shared that it was hard to sell the idea of people being interested in such a series. "I was pitching the show for four years, and nothing ever came of it," he told Entertainment Weekly. "Out of the blue, Leftfield Pictures calls me up and says, 'Hey, we're thinking about trying to do a reality show in a pawn shop.' I said, 'Oh, really? I've been trying to get this thing going for four years!' It was really refreshing."

The show's popularity has brought in even more fascinating figures. "I get people from all around the world because it plays in a lot of countries,"  Rick Harrison told Entertainment Weekly. "Apparently it's real big in England now, because I get a lot of English people coming down saying they love the show. I get every walk of life. It spans the whole spectrum — you wouldn't believe how many 11-year-old kids love my show."

Not all of those faces make it on the show, of course. Some people are camera shy, while others aren't cut for television. That's why the show brings in actors to close the gap, as one Reddit user with behind-the-scenes info revealed. "A close friend of mine worked in casting for several shows. Most notably: Pawn Stars. She told me one night while we were drinking that around 90% of the time the people bringing items into the shop were NOT the true owners," they shared.

"They would scour the internet for people selling interesting things and then hit them up to see if they wanted to bring it on the show. If the true owners were total duds and not suitable for camera work, they would pay them a few bucks to take the item and have a trained actor bring it to the pawn shop for the purposes of the show."