Why Is Fred Lewis Leaving Gold Rush for Good?

Summary

• Fred Lewis was one of the weakest miners of Gold Rush.
• His employees complained about the lack of profits.
• Unable to stay, Lewis returned to the States with his family.

The Discovery Channel is famous for its reality shows, which instead of depicting wealthy and idle lifestyles, often show the raw events of blue-collar workers laboring hard to pay their bills. Gold Rush is no exception. However, while some placer gold miners are successful, others are not favored by the show's harsh nature, and so some contestants walk away with nothing.

This seems to be the case for Fred Lewis. Debuting in 2020 as the newest member of Parker Schnabel's crew, Special Forces medic Fred Lewis quickly got his own team, but as we learned in Season 14, the workers were more than unhappy working with him. It also influenced the opinions of fans, who felt that Lewis was the weakest link in the final seasons of Gold Rush. Viewers have long speculated that Fred Lewis might leave the project for good, and now it has been confirmed.

But let's get to the bottom of why Fred Lewis is leaving Gold Rush.

Why Do Fans and Cast Members Dislike Fred Lewis?

As we mentioned, Fred made his debut in Season 11. However, he hasn't accomplished much in his four-year presence on the project. At first, fans thought he was a great addition to the show. Despite his inexperience, the aspiring miner remained upbeat until the very end, delighting viewers with his determination to help his fellow vets by recruiting them into his crew.

But no matter how noble the goal, it can only be achieved by striving to improve. Instead of accepting the advice of more experienced colleagues who, unlike him, had amassed enough ounces of gold to benefit from it, Fred seemed too stubborn and prideful. He also blamed every failure on someone else, not on his own shortcomings. Sometimes it felt like the Green Beret was blaming the very mines for their hatred of veterans.

The situation reached a climax when former crew member Buzz Legault, who had become a favorite of Gold Rush viewers, spoke out about Fred. After joining the more experienced crew of Rick Ness, he said that leaving Fred for Rick was like 'coming from Hell into Heaven.'

In Fred Lewis' case, things were so bad that the team was simply not bringing in enough numbers to cover its costs. As a result, according to Buzz, the workers (and remember, these were the veterans Fred wanted to keep employed) were not only not getting any income at all, they were actually having to go into negative territory.

The Reason the Veteran Medic Is Leaving the Show

Thus, speculation that Fred Lewis would leave the show has been circulating for three seasons now. Although Discovery realized that Fred was not a successful placer gold miner, the executive producers repeatedly stated that they wanted to keep him on the show in one form or another. By Season 14, however, it was almost certain that Fred would not return.

In Season 14, Fred first appeared in Episode 6 to visit his former employer Parker Schnabel. It was a very warm reunion and the two embraced. However, Fred's main reason for visiting him was to inquire about a possible job. Unfortunately, Schnabel's crew was already full and things were not going well for them at the time, so Parker was forced to say no.

And while Lewis continued to mine off-screen in the months that followed, his latest Instagram post revealed that Fred would no longer be returning to the project, as he and his family had moved back to the States.

In the meantime, while Discovery has yet to make any announcements, Gold Rush Season 15 is expected this fall.

Source: Instagram.