Looks like the choppers are shutting down. TMZ is reporting that the American Chopper TV show has been cancelled after six years on the air. of the cancellation, TV critic Aaron Barnhart noted, “TLC wrecks another family.”
The end of the reality show isn’t a total surprise. In the season six premiere of American Chopper, it was shown that Paul Teutul Sr. and his son, Paul Jr., had a big fight over Paul Jr.’s contract and he was terminated. The son later returned but the problems erupted again and he left once more.
In December 2009, Paul Sr. took legal action against his son over ownership of their family business, Orange County Choppers. The custom motorcycle manufacturer is based in Orange County, New York and was co-founded by the father and son.
Paul Sr. contends they had a deal that he could purchase his son’s stock options in the company but Paul Jr. apparently doesn’t want to give them up. Paul Sr. is suing for $1 million in damages and hopes that the judge will order Paul Jr. to sell his stocks.
Of the show, a TLC representative put a positive slant on the cancellation. The rep said, “The Teutuls will always be a part of the Discovery family and we congratulate them on a tremendously successful series run.”
The last episode of American Chopper will air on February 11th at 9pm on TLC.
What do you think? Are you sorry to see American Chopper end or is it long overdue?
Image courtesy TLC.
From the start, American Chopper was a show I looked forward to each week. The concept of a theme bike and the art in which they were constructed held my interest and loyalty to the show in spite of the constant bickering and foolish rants between the family members. Contrived or not, exaggerated or minimized, that family interaction brought a world of new viewers to a show that interested even people not interested in bikes. I didn’t really care about the reliability of these creations or how much they cost. Anyone who knows anything about bikes knows that these showpieces… Read more »
It was not all the old man, Paul Jr. and Mikey looked like they were not pulling there weight for a long time. Showing up late, expecting other people to do the work. People the quality of Vinny would not of left other wise. Some of the Bikes Junior was doing was the same thing over and over just repictured. He had lost his touch. It is sad to see it go the way it did. It just to bad that everyone thinks Jr. and Mikey are victims. I think they just screwed around and pushed the old mans buttons… Read more »
I agree…… Mikey was a do nothing goof off and Paul Jr. had no work ethic and specifically taunted his father. Those two boys should thank their lucky stars their FATHER gave them any part of his business. For Paul Jr to act like a child and “storm off” just shows his arrogance and immaturity. His new “business” will bomb in a year, and Mikey is a dead beat with no direction, no ambition and no skills. He’ll end up homeless and a drunk. Vinnie left because he was sick of having to pick up the ball at the last… Read more »
I’ll miss the show! I didn’t enjoy when Sr. and Jr. fought, but it made for good “reality tv”. Hopefully, Sr. will be able to continue operating OCC with the way the economy is now. I wish them all the best of luck!
Actually I think the show kind of sucked. I watched a couple early episodes hoping to watch someone build a motorcycle. Obviously I came to the wrong place.
I watched a show occasionally hoping someone would beat the old man haft to death with a hammer. When that didn’t happen I lost interest.
Originally, I thought the unique aspect of the show was the raw creativity of Paul Jr’s. design concepts. The first show started that off with the Jet Bike, which ironically was re-aired early this week. It focused it back on the roots which made the show appealing. I also felt the arguments were distracting and failed to aid to the show’s quality. When Paul Jr. was fired even a blind man could see that the creative quality of the bikes was sorely lacking. The releases immediately started to gain a cobbled look. And when you compare them to designs from… Read more »
This show lost its way years ago. But the early espisodes were a fascinating study of a complex father son relationship. Both seemed to lack any self awareness.
Although I enjoyed the first season, and parts of the second season, I have to agree with what allot of what was said here. I think Steve hit it square with how I feel, and why I stopped watching the show before the second season was much underway. Jr and Sr just got caught up on the money, and the glitz then lost sight of their roots. Steve points this out perfectly when he references the fancy cars (both Jr and Sr seem to show up to work with a different, and more
This show was never about bikes anyway, it was about a dysfunctional family. Get a show with Cody and Vinnie, a couple of real bike builders and you’ll have a following. I stopped watching OCC years ago, what a trainwreck. And now greed has ruined another father/son relationship.
In his old age, Senior seemed to become more and more obstinant, argumentative, and adversarial towards his sons. I was a little disappointed in his attitude toward the estragement. While Mike and Junior seemed rueful about the split, and expressed hope and desire to reconcile with their father, Senior on the other hand seemed to have a “Good Riddance” attitude. Even going insofar as to gather the crew together for a celebratory ritual of removing Paul and Mike’s images from the trailer. And now he’s suing him? Anyway, the good news is that we now can watch VINNY”S SHOW. Vinny… Read more »
Cancellation was LOOOONG overdue!
i relly loved yalls show and never tried to miss any of them. let me tell ya something,ther is nothing more important than family. ya need to charish that guys.you never know that one day one of ya get hurt or lose a loved one like i did. my little brother and my dad, so i hope you all realize that yall still got each outher . i seen in your shows that ya pushed hard to get a project done. i bet ya can push hard to be a family again. im a big fan. i wish i could… Read more »
That’s too bad, but I thought the show started going down hill the second they started getting rich. The old days were great. Yeah Jr. and Sr. fought, but they still seemed like family. My favorite scene ever was when they both smash into each other in their cars and laugh so much about it. Then once they started getting rich, Jr. turned into a spoiled brat, they started hiring a million people, and getting new buildings and everything. It just wasn’t the same. Then they all end up with mansions, and going on trips everywhere. It just lost its… Read more »
Not Surprising! I thought the bikes were looking worse and worse after Jr left. I used to watch the show in amazement when they would unveil their bikes. The detail and innovations never ceased to amaze. However, the bikes were nothing special this season without Jr. Most of the bikes this year seemed rushed through without any thought put into them. Guess the old man was more about making a quick buck?
I wouldn’t mind a spin off following Vinnie and Cody’s company combined with following Paul Jr designs and of course Mikey.
There is a spin off with Vinnie DiMartino and Cody Connelly. They are owners of Vforce customs. There new show airs February 14th (awwww very fitting since it airs on Vday and they can show their love of customizing) and it is called Throttle Junkies. The only issue I see is that it will air on some fairly low key affiliate cable stations.
I think it is a shame i love the show but i hated that the sons,paul jr.and mikey were no longer at the shop.but maybe one day they can get back together and be father and sons once more.I WISH THEM LUCK.
What a dad…..
EVER SINCE THEY GOT RID OF CODY VINNIE PAUL JR AND MIKEY THE SHOW WENT DOWN THE DRAIN AND I SEEN IT COMMING FOR A LONG TIME ITS A SHAME HAD TO HAPPEN BUT OWELL CANT REDO THE SHOW WITH ALL THE CAST CAN THEY