Mike Wolfe Says He Owes Late American Pickers Costar Frank Fritz ‘So Much’ Ahead of New Series (Exclusive)

Mike Wolfe is once again exploring the history of some of the most interesting antiques hidden in plain sight. And he’s got his own history with a good friend in the back of his mind as he does it.

The American Pickers star, who launches his new show History’s Greatest Picks with Mike Wolfe on Sunday, Feb. 22, says he owes his late Pickers costar and right-hand man Frank Fritz “so much” as he begins his latest chapter on television.

The longtime friends starred together on Pickers beginning with its History Channel debut in 2010. Now over a year after Fritz’s October 2024 death at age 60, Wolfe says he still thinks back to his friend’s belief in him and belief in their show all those years ago — just as he still thinks about Fritz when he’s out digging for antiques.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about when the new show airs on the 22nd, and it’s been a little over a year since he’s passed. And just praying to find the words to bring these pieces to a point where people don’t want to change the channel and they’re interested in them. That’s what Frank and I were tasked with every day,” Wolfe, 61, tells PEOPLE. “And we learned how to be on-camera together. I owe him so much for believing in me for the first show, and now I owe him so much for the opportunity for this one.”

Wolfe adds that Fritz “never doubted the dream” of making American Pickers together and that the vision they shared “never” faltered. “Hands-on history is so important to so many people. And it was important to Frank and I because we were both the worst students ever,” Wolfe jokes of their years in school.

Now a history teacher in his own right (at least to the millions who have watched him on television), Wolfe is tapping back into his love of “hands-on history” and antiques for History’s Greatest Picks.

He assures fans that the new show isn’t about his own personal greatest finds while out antique hunting, but rather the greatest finds, period. Some may have been stuck in a barn or garage, while others just went unnoticed for years. For example, an early episode focuses on motorized transportation (a topic Wolfe holds close to his heart), including gems like Steve McQueen’s 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback from the film Bullitt.

“People can see a story on this new show, the introduction of the item, and then the relationship of that item with the person that found it, and then we get into the history of the item,” Wolfe teases. “We’re coming from beginning to end with four stories in an hour. So it’s so cool for me to be able to be that conduit to tell their stories.”

At the heart of the new show, much like Pickers, are the stories behind the items. Wolfe reiterates that viewers are “going to feel connected to the people that found these items.”

“You actually connect with that person that found this item,” he says. “Then you can see yourself in them because so many of these people that found these items, they’re not professionals. They’re just people that collect, maybe go to a yard sale every once in a while, or an estate sale and they’re like, ‘Hey, this is interesting.’ “

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Of course, Wolfe still goes out picking himself as the owner of Antique Archaeology, the store associated with his History Channel series. He tells PEOPLE that he thinks of Fritz “every day” when he’s out looking for his next best find.

“I was just on a pick in Iowa here and I walked in and the whole basement was full of toys,” he says. “And I would’ve walked away and said, ‘Hey, Frank, you handle this. You’re the toy guy.’ “

As for what he hopes Pickers fans can get out of the new series, Wolfe emphasizes that “we all share a common interest in our history.”

“I just want us to all have a moment to breathe, sit down with our families, get excited, not just about our history, but history from other parts of the world that this show is going to encompass,” he says. “And so that’s what I would like to see this show accomplish.”

History’s Greatest Picks with Mike Wolfe premieres on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 9 p.m. ET on The History Channel.