Storage Wars (stylized as STORAGE WAR$) is an American reality television series on the A&E Network that premiered on December 1, 2010.
When rent is not paid on a storage locker for three months in California, the contents can be sold by an auctioneer as a single lot of items in the form of a cash-only auction. The show follows professional buyers who visit storage facilities throughout the state and bid on these lockers. Before each locker is auctioned, the buyers are given five minutes to inspect the contents from the doorway, but may not enter the locker or touch any of the items.
After the day’s auctions are completed, the winning bidders sort through the lockers, estimating the prices they will set on the contents and/or consulting with experts for an appraisal of unusual items. Running totals on-screen display the cost versus estimated total value, and a final tally at the end of the episode summarizes the buyers’ net profit or loss.
Storage Wars can be seen internationally as well, as AETN International has sold the series to several channels in Singapore, Canada, Croatia, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, India and Turkey.
Season one of Storage Wars consisted of 19 episodes, 17 of which were filmed at various self-storage facilities throughout Southern California. The show has enjoyed ratings success, and its second-season premiere attracted 5.1 million total viewers, making it the most-watched program in A&E’s history to that point.
Storage Wars was recommissioned for another 26-episode season in January 2012, with the season officially premiering on June 5, 2012. Only 20 of the 26 episodes were aired however, with six of the episodes being held back for broadcast during the second half of the show’s 3rd season which began airing on December 4, 2012. In March 2013, four early, special season 4 episodes aired prior to the official launch of Season 4, which premiered on April 16, 2013.
A spin-off of Storage Wars titled Storage Wars: Texas made its debut on A&E on December 6, 2011. This series features a different auctioneer and group of bidders, and takes place at various self-storage locations in the state of Texas. A second spin-off called Storage Wars: New York premiered January 1, 2013. As of late 2014, neither spin-off is airing on the network or in production. However, episodes from both shows are available for viewing on the Tubi video on-demand service.