Without Gold Rush's Most Hated Star the Show Would Be Dead in the Water

And among all the gold mining crews involved, the least competent by far is that of Fred Lewis.

However, while Fred's bumbling efforts might be not conductive to mining gold, they are certainly good for the show (as long you accept that your "reality television" is not 100% authentic).

A number of people seem to watch Gold Rush mostly for the sake of witnessing Fred's repeated screw-ups, even as they rage at his stupidity later on social media.

The most common sentiment of the audience seems to be: "Fred Lewis may be less than optimal as a miner but as a character on a TV show he is very valuable."

Or, in words of another user:

"I have to admit it. I can't turn away... just like at a car wreck."

Tricks like this, inserting a character whose main draw is his comic incompetence in a reality show, are not uncommon. As another Redditor observed:

"It's a very well used ploy in many TV shows. You have the Reapers in Bering Sea Gold as an example. The problem is that it is a fine line between keeping people hooked versus pushing people away."

There is such a line indeed. Some people are turned off by a character who is too dumb and incompetent, while for others existence of such a character makes a show feel too obviously scripted.

Yes, most people know that there are scripted elements in the majority of supposed reality television shows, but it is nice when you don't need to work too hard on suspending your disbelief.

That said, Fred Lewis probably haven't crossed that line, at least not for the majority of Gold Rush's audience.

And while he is not likely to mine any substantial amounts of gold any time soon, checks he gets for failing at it in Gold Rush will surely more than compensate for that.