A few months ago, Pawn Stars star Austin 'Chumlee' Russell was arrested on a slew of charges, including drug possession and being in possession of illegal firearms. It wasn't a great look, but his co-stars stood beside him and now we know exactly what the History Channel series plans to do about Chumlee when the show returns to the schedule. Namely, Chumlee will be back in the action when new episodes of Pawn Stars begin airing.
Following a plea deal that Chumlee Russell made after his arrest, reports indicate that the reality star will be back on the series when it returns to the schedule. Fox News has reported that "there has been no change" when it comes to Chumlee's employment on the popular series. In fact, Pawn Stars is not planning to address anything having to do with Chumlee Russell's arrest and subsequent court ordeal, at all. Upcoming episodes were actually shot before Chumlee's arrest last March, so if you were expecting a reference or a comment or two, you shouldn't be getting them.
If you aren't up on the backstory regarding the reality TV star's case, the police obtained a search warrant for Austin Russell's home on March 9. The warrant was related to a sexual assault complaint, but it led to the police finding a small amount of meth, a bunch of pot, a stash of anti-anxiety medication Xanax and what has been referred to as a "small arsenal" of guns and other weaponry. After pleading guilty to the charges stemming from the police's finds, the judge on the case sentenced Chumlee to probation until 2019. If he follows the terms of his probation, he will not be stuck with a felony charge. The sexual assault charge which led to the search was actually dropped.
Pawn Stars leads Rick and Corey Harrison have been supportive of their employee during the process of his arrest and subsequent court dealings. A lot of times when reality stars deal with major drama outside of work, it does bleed into their ability to work on TV. That happened when stars on shows like 19 Kids and Counting and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo dealt with personal scandal. Chumlee's arrest clearly stemmed from bad judgment, but it's hardly on the level that the other two mentioned reality shows dealt with. Plus the reality star is one of the more popular characters on the series, so it's easy to see why A&E Networks would want to keep the star on the series---especially since episodes had already been shot.
We'll have to wait and see what this means for any future seasons of Pawn Stars that the History Channel decides to sign on for. Season 13 is definitely on the way and is expected to hit the schedule after the summer hiatus. New episodes are expected to continue to air on Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET. To find out what is still coming up this summer, check out our summer TV premiere schedule.
