Screenshot of a 2025 segment of US Antiques Roadshow in which Nicholas ‘Nicho’ Lowry of Swann Auction Galleries appraises a c.1910 Alphonse Mucha American Reverie print at $8,000.
Its victory in the Outstanding Structured Reality Program category ends an agonisingly long streak of unrequited nominations for an Emmy, the most prestigious award a US television production can earn.
With the exception of 2004, the US Antiques Roadshow has been nominated 23 times since 2002. The 24th did the trick. Along the way, the show lost five times to Shark Tank, the US version of Dragons’ Den.
Executive producer Marsha Bemko, who has been with the US show for 27 years, said the win felt “incredible! And it was extra poignant this year since we received the award for our 30th anniversary season.”
She also said she and her coworkers had no hint of the victory to come. “The list of possible nominees is long, and we’re never sure we’ll make that short list. We had no sense that this year would be different than any of the past 23 years.”
Nicholas ‘Nicho’ Lowry, president and director of Swann Auction Galleries in New York, has appeared on the US Antiques Roadshow since the year 2000. His vibrant personality and his sartorial choices – Lowry styles his moustache and dons British-made Bookster plaid suits for his appraisals – made him a favourite with US viewers.
“After 24 nominations – and that in itself is huge - it is such a great feeling to know the Antiques Roadshow has finally brought home the little golden statue,” said Lowry. “All the appraisers may only be volunteers on the show, but we are all inordinately proud of it and we couldn't be happier with this win. It is a testament to the staff and crew of the show above all else.”
Lowry has attended three Emmy ceremonies as the guest of US Antiques Roadshow senior producer Sam Farrell. “On all of those trips to LA, we did not win. And this year, when neither he nor I were there, the show does win. Go figure,” he said, adding, “I am truly sorry I missed being there in person this year.” Line producer Jill Giles, a 28-year veteran of the show, had the pleasure of accepting the Emmy.
The American cousin of the British BBC original is produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) at WGBH-TV, its station in Boston. It began taping segments in 1996 for broadcast in 1997.
How the show announced its Emmy success on its Bluesky account.
“We license the right to do Antiques Roadshow from our UK cousins, and we hope to replicate their incredible longevity,” said Bemko. “We’ve heard from our BBC colleagues on the differences in our show: American guests are more excitable than the British.”
One of the most famed viral moments from the US Antiques Roadshow, a 2019 segment shot in Fargo, North Dakota, proves Bemko’s point. The owner of an exceptionally well-documented 1971 Rolex Oyster Cosmograph reacted to the news that his watch was worth at least $400,000 by dropping to the ground in a comedic mock-faint. Appraiser Peter Planes ultimately assigned the Rolex an estimate of $500,000-700,000.
Fans of the US Antiques Roadshow gather on the social media platforms Bluesky and YouTube for live watch parties for new episodes (the author of this article leads the US Antiques Roadshow live watch parties held on Bluesky at the #antiquesroadshow hash tag).
While the fans enjoy seeing high-dollar appraisals, they regard them as just one of the show’s many delights. Among the most beloved US Antiques Roadshow clips is one filmed in 1999 in Tampa. It features a man who festooned his beret with mid-century costume jewellery, making it look like something a Pearly King or Queen might wear.
He won a place in the hearts of fans when he turned his head slowly to show off the glittering fruits of his labours.
Gloria Lieberman, a jewellery specialist from Skinner auction house, assigned the hat an estimate of $1500-2000.
