We had a feeling this was coming, right? Following presenter Andrew Flintoff’s 2022 crash that resulted in life-altering injuries, the BBC has brushed the “Top Gear” show into the archives of history for now. In a statement, the broadcaster wrote: “Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future… We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.” Well, that’s quite the euphemism. In this case, “resting the show” means axing the program, possibly picking it up another time. As much as this news sucks, it’s probably what needed to happen.
This isn’t the first time Top Gear’s been cancelled. That happened in 2001, when a more consumer-focused car show than the one we know today was axed by the BBC following a decline in viewership. The relaunch was swift, with former presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman relaunching the show in 2002. While there was some early-installment weirdness to reborn-Top Gear, the show eventually found its footing and went on to be the biggest automotive TV show…in the world.
Of course, good things come to the end, and they can feel like a punch to the face when they do. In the case of Clarkson-era “Top Gear,” things really did end with a punch, when Clarkson allegedly threw hands at producer Oisin Tymon. The result? Clarkson’s contract wasn’t renewed, Richard Hammond and James May left, and “The Grand Tour” was born.
Of course, this left the BBC with a void of presenters, and the broadcaster decided to pull a GM by throwing every possible talent at the wall and seeing what stuck. Chris Evans certainly didn’t, but Chris Harris, Matt LeBlanc, and Rory Reid did. So did Sabine Schmitz, a beacon of automotive enthusiasm and driving expertise brighter than the sun. Rest In Peace, Sabine.
By 2019, it was time for another dramatic presenter shuffle, with LeBlanc and Reid heading out and two new presenters coming in: Cricketer Andrew Flintoff and comedian Paddy McGuinness. While the first season with this lineup was a bit wooden, the chemistry developed, and the last seasons of “Top Gear” were some of the best ever. In a way, the reborn show had always been a bit “Jackass” but with cars, and the antics of Flintoff, McGuinness, and Harris played to this strength. Viewership figures were returning from the gutters, with the 30th season performing just as well domestically as the final season with Clarkson, Hammond, and May, as per the U.K.’s BARB viewing data. Still, it’s not hard to find internet commenters bemoaning the final presenter lineup.
Does “Top Gear” still deserve to exist? I reckon it does. There’s always a market for high-grade, exceptionally-produced car porn, and “Top Gear” redefined the automotive program into something experiential rather than consumer-focused. It tapped into a pillar of the industry that some professionals neglect: Escapism. You may never try to cross the English Channel in a homemade amphibious car, drive a Peel P50 through an office, or hoon the latest McLaren on track, but it’s fun to see cars move.
If anything, a break could be good for the show. Calling it quits for now can throw the pale light of day on a legacy that’s impossible to live up to, give leeway towards presenters for a possible rebirth, and most importantly, show respect to Flintoff. Sure, it isn’t the first time a presenter has been seriously injured during filming, but that doesn’t make it better. It would be rude to just pick up the show without a presenter that helped make it awesome, especially when that presenter’s experienced a great deal of hurt. Perhaps it’s time for “Top Gear” to exit the airwaves, but not forever. In a few years, everyone will miss it like the desert misses rain.
(Photo credits: BBC)
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I compare Top Gear version with the car gods Jeremy (Englands Herman Munster), Hamster, and Cap’n Slow to the 70s version of America’s SNL. Both were some of the best shows of their genre casting lightening that could never have been predicted. Only to fail spectacularly with the networks burying TV Gold so the new TV Aluminum could be considered good.
Sorry Top Gear God’s and Not ready for Prime Time Players will never be attained when corporate takes over. Frankly Top Gear 3 British hosts I could understand but the British hosts later I couldn’t. And SNL Noone is as funny being constrained by corporate as the unfettered cocaine fueled Players.
I wouldn’t be here without “new old Top Gear.” When I first got engaged to a car guy, I realized my options were “learn about cars” or “be bored for the rest of my life.” I put on Top Gear while I would make wedding invites and decor and such. The first episode I ever watched had the 500 Abarth on the test track purely by luck and this was before Fiat came back to the US. As luck would have it, Fiat would become my everything. I wouldn’t be here writing this without Top Gear. Unfortunately, the post-CHM seasons never really clicked with me. It just didn’t feel right with a different trio, whoever they threw at it. I think it’s good for the show to go away for a while with the possibility of a future refresh. That being said, you’ll never fully eliminate danger in any car show where cars are actually being driven, it is what it is. I’m sorry that Freddie’s face got messed up, but things happen, there is always risk in driving any vehicle. You can throw all the health and safety in the world at it and some unique circumstance will happen and shoot the plan to hell.
Agreed the big 3 were picked for chemistry each replacement was picked for popularity or he is the Hamster replacement or he is a race car driver and host so eliminate the Stig and save money. That is what hurt Top Gear America they picked A car moron comedian to wreck cars, a race car drive who won all driving contests, and a car fact dingus. You can’t trap lightning in a bottle.
It’s my long-running theory that Clarkson got fired on purpose, because he didn’t want to have to change his name to Jennifer.
My left-leaning self appreciates it’s not PC… but I really miss Grand Tour.
No need to miss it, it’s still running. Their latest special, Eurocrash, is very entertaining!
No it’s also dead.
https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/jeremy-clarkson-amazon-grand-tour-canceled-1235490701/amp/
Yes I remember that. They just finished a new special which will be released sometime soon. Another Africa special, so I’m excited!
It is like when Stern went to subscription radio. 90% of fans loved him but wouldn’t pay a fee to keep listening to the aging old man no longer funny nothing new but pay $19.95 a month. I can save an abused dog for that kind of coin.
I liked the Harris, LeBlanc, Reid lineup. Stopped after that disbanded. That format of Top Gear and by extension, Grand Tour has run its course for me.
Leblanc was surprisingly great.
It’s been dead since Grand Tour started. And now that is going to be gone soon. And I will cry. I’ve been watching TG for so long, I remember hammonds first crash, and all the other ones, and I used to host a Top Gear Tuesdays during lunch hour at work. Best car show ever.
When one door closes, another one opens. Goodbye Top Gear, hello Autopian TV! (I wish.)
Torch could absolutely be a top notch presenter.
Exclusively showcasing obscure shitboxes and the occasional Ford GT.
Sure. But also just about anything. Torch is a personality on camera. Narration is engaging and fun. Would make an excellent host.
I’d watch that 100%.
Top Gear Australia have just signed up Moog from Mighty Car Mods, so I might give an episode or two of that a go, to see what it’s like.
I’ll throw in with the crowd that won’t miss it. The Clarkson/Hammond/May TG only worked because of the hosts and their chemistry. Without that, it’s just some people babbling about cars I can’t afford. I watched a few episodes after the switchup and caught a few clips occasionally, but I was never impressed. Same with TG US. They tried copying the format but couldn’t get the same results. Maybe that form of lightning only strikes once.
I hope they can come up with something good after a pause to regroup. I like the car culture aspect of the show but it has to be entertaining and engaging, somehow.
It’ll be sad when the GT Trio finally hang it up. I have yet to find a car culture YT channel worth watching with any regularity. I catch clips from some of the popular ones, but I usually have to mute them and turn CC on to make them watchable.
The issue is that it takes time for the type of chemistry that CHM had to develop and we demand it immediately. Have you ever gone back to some of the 2002 era Top Gear? It’s bad to say the least.
Not sure what YouTube channels your viewing but I find Mighty Car Mods good (although there more recent stuff isn’t as good IMO) and ViceGrip Garage is excellent. Both are more centered on tinkering and not discussing automotive happenings/races/challenges though.
The last few seasons with Flintoff, McGuinness and Harris were geniunely a lot of fun, if much more bro-ish than the “Holy Trinity” era. There was some heavy foreshadowing of Flintoff’s bad crash throughout, as Harris especially decried his complete lack of a sense of self-preservation. It’s not surprising that the BBC wants to pull back from TG at this point with the myriad of online automotive content out there and an increasing fragmentation of the enthusiast population… it’s harder to do a show with something for everybody when you can easily find something online directed specifically toward your interests.
The car market has also changed significantly since new-era TG began back in 2002, especially post-Covid. Can you imagine them trying to do the “Budget Supercar Challenge” (my personal favorite segment, with the possible exception of the Alfa Road Trip) today? Or really, any segment involving buying three interesting old cars for a song and destroying them in an amusing way?
There’s no way that Top Gear will die off completely. The next iteration might have the hosts interacting in the studio but not so much in the field, with segments focusing more on lifestyle (Think Rory Reid in Japan showcasing the Bosozuku culture) history and reviews. Probably more sedate than the last version, but easier to produce and insure.
I don’t think I’ll miss it that much. I watched a few episodes from the post Clarkson/Hammond/May seasons, and usually, I didn’t much care for them. To be fair, I watched a few episodes of The Grand Tour, and didn’t much enjoy those either.
Maybe I haven’t seen enough shows to understand, but so far, I fail to see what everyone has against Chris Evans. He seems knowledgeable and personable enough for the job, even if he’s not a charismatically foolish jackass like Clarkson was. Evans’ drive of his own Citroen 2CV along windy roads was excellent automotive television IMO.
Frankly, I never gave a poop about the big board with all the supercar lap times, nor did I much enjoy the silly stunts and competitions. Some of the trips were good (like Vietnam, Africa, etc…) but really, Top Gear was more of an auto porn show than a show for automotive information. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy auto porn as much as the next guy, but I have a finite appetite for beauty shots of six-figure cars screaming around turns in front of an overcranked camera.
Luckily, there’s all the old eps around for die-hards, and plenty of new auto enthusiast content online too. Though it’s motorcycle (rather than car) related, almost everything produced by Fortnine for their Youtube channel is excellent and informative. Car-wise, I’m sure there’s just as much of that online too, though nothing really exceptional comes to mind atm, probably because so much of it tries so hard to mimic Top Gear, thus leaving me bored.
I’m not a motorcyclist and I still love the Fortnine content. Zack and Ari at RevZilla are also generally a great watch too.
I understand that 100% Dan. Though I got a M1 license after taking the CHP training course many years ago, I never actually bought a motorcycle once I got licensed, due mainly to the keen awareness of my own mortality. Then a couple years ago I started skimming Youtube regularly and found Ryan and the Fortnine videos… and they were so good, I watched them all. Sure enough, I started skimming the net for ‘for sale’ ads (after settling on a few different starter bike models) thanks in part to the beautifully produced and informative F9 videos. Which eventually led me to getting this, which I also found on Youtube as it happens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad4do8q7dQ8
PS: I don’t watch the RevZilla videos as much, though I’ve seen more than a few. I’m planning to go out to the RevZilla retail store (Manhattan Beach or somewhere coastal I think… so about an hour from me) since I’ve still got some gear to buy.
Chris Evans* was the host right after CHM left, and wasn’t such a good fit for the role, and he was the one who attracted a lot of criticism.
Chris Harris is the 2CV owner, and current host, who personally I enjoy watching (and who has gone back to making solo videos on You Tube).
Easy to get them confused based on the name I guess 😉
*(Not to be confused with the US actor/Captain America, this one is a British tv and radio host)
Apparently I did exactly that and confused them. Chris Harris… the short guy w/not much hair… that’s the one I thought people didn’t like. Thanks for the clarification Phuzz. 🙂
I agree. My favourite segments of TG were mostly the older cheap car challenges (without the later nonsense of having to modifying them), because it showcased their tastes and creativity.
The track segments left me mostly bored.
I didn’t realize the show was even still on the air.
I watched the first few episodes post-Clarkson but quickly got annoyed with
Chris EvansChris Evans. I liked it a bit after he was replaced but didn’t stick with it. I tried the American version but never really got into it.And that’s when I came to a realization about what the Top Gear I loved really was.
While Top Gear appeared to be a car show, I saw it as something similar to The Late Show or The Tonight Show in that it is all about the personalities. Nobody watches “The Late Show” — they watch Stephen Colbert (or Letterman before that); nobody watches “The Tonight Show” — they watch Jimmy Fallon (or Conan or Leno before that). The hosts’ personalities are the draw more so than the content — and swapping out the host(s) inevitably won’t result in the same show even if they keep the format the same. That’s not to say that the resulting show won’t be good; it could even be better than the original — but it’s guaranteed to be different from the original.
If I’m honest, I haven’t watched it since LeBlanc left and Sabine passed. I was really hoping that TG and GT would both continue to be successful though, having 2 great motoring shows would be a win-win for us viewers. The new shows were ok, but they just don’t measure up to TG at its peak.
Honestly though, even if Jeremy hadn’t thrown the punch, I don’t know if TG would still be as great as it was. It’s hard to keep up something that great for that long. I do enjoy James’ cooking show, so at least we still have that.
Yeah. I enjoyed James’ travel show (Our Man in Japan and Italy) far more than The Grand Tour.
Conversely Top Gear Australia just got rebooted with Moog from Marty Car Mods as one of one of the hosts, which I think will be interesting.
Love that you call it Marty Car Mods since that’s exactly how I hear it every time they say it.
That was totally unintended. Blame me typing my comment while being on a work call.
We’ll call it a Freudian slip. It’s ironic though because Moog almost always calls him Martin and never Marty.
Never watched Top Gear after Clarkson, Hammond, & May left. Watched some GT but had grown tired of Top Gear a little at the end. Would rather watch a reboot of Fifth Gear with Tiff, Vicki, Plato, & others than any Top Gear recast.
All good things must come to an end. Top Gear really struggled after the original crew left, but the last two series were actually pretty good with the latest group. Sadly, I think the show has ran its course.
Is that an “Everything But The Girl” reference at the end, Thomas?
“Like the deserts miss the rain,” it’s very close. Such a classic. My wife and I tried to find it recently, and only now have we realized that the version most of us know best is a remix.
And on that Bombshell….
I think the show should have a rest for a year or two, if not more. The reality is once Clarkson got the boot and Hammond and May followed, The BBC never took a big step back to evaluate what the show could and should be. They simply threw three new guys at the screen, tried a few new bits, and kept trying the same until an unfortunate accident made it come crashing down.
Unfortunately the 2002-onward formula that we all loved with the original trio was truly dependent on them making it work. While I think Top Gear should and likely will get a revamp in the future, it should be with fresh eyes, a fresh cast, and a willingness to throw out much of the outgoing style and process for something fresh and different that only the BBC can provide.
With YouTube car content reaching insanely high production and entertainment value with amazing channels like SavageGeese, Throttle House, Hagerty, Gears and Gasoline and more, Top Gear needs to differentiate itself in a way it hasn’t in half a decade. It’s awfully hard to justify sitting down (or even paying) to watch a BBC show with ads and a cast that isn’t as fun and relatable as we can get for free on youtube, especially with a format that just doesn’t seem to work as well as it used to. Amazon realized this with the Grand Tour and switched entirely to single long adventures as opposed to the studio sets, they adapted, and it worked, at least compared to Top Gear which just continued to fizzle out and now die.
The original Top Gear was hugely influential in my journey to becoming an enthusiast. Back in college my buddies and I would gather to watch with regularity and would drink/smoke/be merry. I learned a lot about cars through it and was always entertained. While Clarkson does seem like an insufferable jackass in his personal life I do think him, May, and Hammond remain some of the best to ever do it. Hell, I think there’s an argument to be made that they are the greatest to ever do it.
This was apparent when the Grand Tour launched, and while I wouldn’t say I enjoy the Grand Tour as much as some of the best seasons of Top Gear because it doesn’t feel as gritty and goes a little far with production/scale/the infinite budget that Amazon allows, it was clear immediately that the original trio were the secret sauce. This was also confirmed with that god awful, unwatchable American Top Gear spinoff. Dear god was that horrible.
I personally don’t get much out of the current hosts. I don’t think they’re bad, and everyone seems to be of the opinion that Harris is a standup dude, but it’s just not the same. I also agree with JaredTheGeek…I think YouTubers have largely stepped in to fill the void left by the original show. Throttle House, Hagerty/Cammisa, Hoovie/Tavarish, and my personal favorites Savagegeese are producing high quality content that scratches a similar itch.
“Oh no!
…Anyway…”
Read the story on BBC News this morning, and so part of this is that Flintoff was injured in a crash on set? So accordingly, BBC News played up heavily that BBC issued an apology.
What happened to him that there’d be an apology? Or is it the British being British? Here in the states, it’d be lawsuits and angry statements, but no apologies.
(I admit to having not watched it in years, so totally agree it needs to be parked for a bit)
BBC were at fault. There was a financial settlement.
https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/andrew-flintoff-top-gear-crash-pay-bbc-england-cricket-b1113511.html
Intriguing – wonder what it was? I’d imagine his contact had some pretty specific language on all the risks of being a host of a vehicle hijinks show, so must have been something pretty serious to not be covered by that.
Apparently a Morgan flipped over.
The version I read was that Flintoff expressed reservations about the segment because of wet weather and there was no head protection (helmet) provided, but BBC insisted on going ahead anyway.
Yikes – that does sound apology-worthy!
Do we need Top Gear with what is produced for the internet today? There are lots of great shows made for YouTube that cover what they were doing and more so.
The roadtrips were my fav part and the only thing I’ve found that comes close-ish is Harry’s Garage but even then not really, will miss it for that
edit: forgot the Throttle House roadtrip from this year, that was great
I like Car Trek for some similar stuff as well. I also watch a lot of Roadworthy Rescues that came from Vice Grip garage. I also watched a lot of Roadkill which is on MotorTrend TV so not really internet only. There is a lot more content now because its easier to produce as a small group. Tony Angelo’s youtube channel is also great. That’s not even counting the review stuff like Throttle House and the delightfully grumpy Savage Geese.
gears and gasoline have some pretty epic road trips on their channel
I think there’s one fundamental difference that YouTube can’t approximate: Cinematography. Even the bigger channels don’t have the budget and crew to get the Top Gear look and polish.
There are benefits to a larger team, especially behind the camera.
I don’t need that much polish and I disagree, there are lots of Youtubers putting out content as good and better than they did on Top Gear.
It’s not so much needing the polish, but recognizing the difference it makes.
There are lots of YouTubers putting out good content, but the difference of having a big studio with a lot of resources behind it is clear, and having a relatively small number of constraints does mean you can do a lot more.
Top Gear filmed cars like nobody else, and I feel that shouldn’t be discounted.
I agree. I like the YouTube channels that I watch, but none of them approach Top Gear’s production value; not even close really. The specials, and even some of the regular segments were more travel show than anything. There was a real art to the way those episodes were produced, not to mention the chemistry between Clarkson/May/Hammond. I enjoy reviews, projects, etc. on YouTube but none of them make me want to sit on the couch and thoughtfully absorb a road trip like prime Top Gear did.
I don’t think YouTubers have anywhere near the budgets/gear/personal at their disposal to do anything like the TG specials or Grand Tour shows. They just review and compare/contrast cars from what I’ve seen.
There is more than just reviews out there. Vice Grip, Car Trek and others do more than just review cars. Throttle House did a good road trip as well. Depends on what you want to see but there is more out there than just reviews and comparing cars.
Took long enough
They need to retool instead of just trying to rehash the same format Clarkson and Wilman came up with for the first reboot (which was really a completely new show in every respect, that just happened to re-use the name of a previous one that they were also both involved with). Clearly, its time for some sort of more significant re-invention again, the old one was cancelled because practical car reviews and consumer advice had grown stale by the early ’00s, in part because of the rise of the Internet, so it was retooled into pure entertainment/comedy, with cars as the foundation, which was an experience that couldn’t be replicated by reading an online article, but the format settled on was highly driven by Jeremy Clarkson’s personal preferences as to how he wanted the show to run, which might just not work as well for anyone else.
Definitely for the best to let it go for a while.