LISTEN: The popular PBS program will set up shop in downtown Savannah next week, drawing hundreds of fans eager to have their antiques appraised on camera. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Antiques Roadshow logo

Credit: PBS

Savannah will play host to PBS's most-watched ongoing series next week, as Antiques Roadshow travels to Georgia's oldest city to begin production of its 30th anniversary season, slated to air in 2026.

Appraisers will transform downtown's Georgia State Railroad Museum into a treasure-hunting hub on Tuesday, April 29, evaluating family heirlooms and forgotten attic finds from hundreds of attendees.

The sold-out event marks the first of five cities on Antiques Roadshow's cross-country tour this year, which will see the show visit St. Louis; Salt Lake City; Boothbay, Maine; and Charlevoix, Michigan.

Britty Pointer of Columbia, South Carolina, counts herself among the lucky ones who managed to score tickets to the Savannah taping, where she and her grandson will present an Elvis Presley autograph her parents obtained from "The King" himself at Memphis's historic Peabody Hotel in the 1950s.

"They were just standing there in the lobby of the Peabody, and Elvis and his entourage come sweeping in," Pointer recalled. "Elvis went over to my mother and asked if he could kiss her on the cheek. And she said, 'No, but I'd like your autograph.'"

Antiques Roadshow, produced by WGBH in Boston and based on the original 1979 BBC program of the same name, reaches more than 5 million weekly viewers across television, streaming platforms, and social media, according to PBS.

"I never in a million years would have thought that I would actually have a chance to go," Pointer said of attending a taping, adding that she has followed the U.S. version since its 1997 debut. "It's exciting. It seems surreal I'm actually going."

As ticketed attendees are allowed to bring up to two items for appraisal, Pointer said that she also plans to present an old 45-rpm record cover of Presley's 1957 song "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear."

The event will mark Antiques Roadshow's second visit to Savannah, having previously filmed in the Hostess City in 2003.

The ticket sweepstakes deadline passed in March, and no tickets will be available at the door.

However, the taping won't be the only way Georgia fans can catch a glimpse into the show's inner workings: GPB will produce a behind-the-scenes radio and web story in May, as well as a TV special airing in early 2026.

Tags: PBS  antiques  Savannah  Georgia  Antiques Roadshow