| Runtime: | 22 - 24 minutes |
| Producer: | Ali Bazzy Jason Morgan Rob Zazzli |
| Director: | Bryan Stratte |
| Executive Producer: | Varuna Entertainment |
| Starring: | Minda Grabiec Nikki Ruehl Greg Holloway Tom Brunzelle |
| Network: | TLC |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 10 |
Pawn Queens is a reality TV series about female pawn shop operators, airing on TLC, which premiered in 2010, following its pilot episode in 2010.
Located in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois,[1] [2] businesswomen Minda Grabiec and Nikki Ruehl run a pawn shop that caters to women. The family-friendly boutique specializes in merchandise appealing to women, including jewelry, vintage Barbie dolls, and one-of-a-kind antiques. With their two business partners, Greg Holloway and Tom Brunzelle, they pawn, purchase, and sell just about anything to keep their fledgling company afloat. Each episode focuses on how pawn businesses operate, and features Minda and Nikki struggling to debunk the stereotype that the pawn business is only for men,[3] although in reality pawn shops have long been regarded as a common occupation and service for women, and are often family businesses.[4] [5]
The store was started by Holloway and Brunzelle in 2009. The pair decided to try to attract female customers, and recruited Grabiec and Ruehl, who invested in, and are partners in the business.[6]
According to the show's producer, Jason Morgan, while in town for his 20-year high school reunion, he dropped by Naperville Jewelry & Loan upon hearing that the store dealt in high-end items. An assistant had coincidentally found the shop while researching unusual pawn shops.[2] This led to the shooting of the pilot episode, through August 2010.[6]
Media Life Magazine described the interaction among the partners in the 2010 pilot episode as "pleasant enough," but referred to the show as having "no pay off", since no merchandise is seen being pawned, only purchased by the shop, and no ultimate sales of merchandise is seen.[7] The Hollywood Reporter gave a mixed review of the 2011 series premiere, stating, "Pawn Queens makes you wonder whether some professions are simply not worthy of their own show," and called the series "not-so-dramatic" and "G-rated pawning, which makes you hungry for Vegas."[8]
The premiere episode which aired on November 18, 2010[6] achieved 1.2 million viewers, prompting the TLC network to give the show its own series,[1] which first aired May 5, 2011.[9] The show had more than one million viewers each week.[2]