Hidden treasures – The PBS hit Antiques Roadshow stops in Baton Rouge this weekend

Marsha Bemko is the executive producer of the PBS hit Antiques Roadshow, a reality show that has consistently grown thanks to a winning, simple formula.

On the show, people of all ages bring an item to see how much it’s worth. The stage is set with a volunteer appraiser, the story of how the person received the item, and the big reveal of how much the item is worth.

Bemko, a Boston native with a thick accent, says she never expected the series would have lasted 18 seasons.

“Any TV producer would say they’re grateful for the next season,” she says. “People’s tastes change. What’s hot one moment isn’t hot the next. I’m always delighted to find there are people who love the show. Expect it? Never, but I’m so glad it’s true.”

Among the stops for the upcoming season is Baton Rouge, and the show will be filming segments this Saturday at the River Center. Bemko says the local stop had almost 13,000 applicants for tickets, more than four times the number of pairs they could give to the public.

“That’s a good number,” she says of the applicants. “It’s many times more than what we can support that day. We’re very fortunate. We could make 20 stops and still not satisfy the want for roadshows.”

This season, Antiques Roadshow has increased its number of stops across the country, from six to eight. Bemko likes to joke that the crew throws darts at a map to find out where they’ll stop next, but there is a method.

“We’ll go to eight regions of the country,” she says. “We ask ourselves if we have been to your city before. If the answer is yes, then we ask how long ago was it.”

The last time Antiques Roadshow visited Louisiana was in 2001 in New Orleans. This Saturday will be the show’s first appearance in Baton Rouge.

Bemko can’t hint at what will be shown this weekend, but she says there might be some Civil War-era material.

“Who knows?” she says. “We’ll see all kinds of things. We see Hawaiian bulls in Boston and pieces from Boston in Hawaii. There is always a regional impact on what we see, though. The best part is I don’t know.”

Perhaps the key to the show’s success is an item that tells a story and also has some trivia behind it. Couple that with a professional host, Mark Walberg, and volunteer appraisers who both know a thing or two about authenticity, and you have a show that’s a great stop along the routine evening of numb channel flipping.

Walberg started hosting the show in its ninth season. Well before he was called to host, he was a fan of the show. Though he thinks he’s not great at assessing an item, he knows the value of an authentic story.

“I always tell people authenticity cuts through,” he says. “People can sense if something is authentic, and they can sense when they’re being duped. If you listen and pay attention, the authentic ones without an agenda, those are the ones that are refreshing…it makes a difference.”

Bemko’s advice to Saturday’s ticket holders echoes Walberg’s statement.

“When you’re coming to Roadshow, don’t try to impress our appraisers,” she says. “This is an opportunity to be in the room with 70 of the country’s top experts. They sell five, six, and seven-figure objects. Bring something you can’t Google. We’ve all turned down six-figure objects because there’s nothing to learn. Bring something you’re really curious about. Take advantage of us being in town.”