According to a report from BBC News, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have filmed their last episode of motoring show The Grand Tour, after seven years on Amazon Prime. Mr. Clarkson, 63, Mr. May, 60, and Mr. Hammond, 52, have returned from filming a special in Zimbabwe. The episode, along with an earlier special filmed in Mauritania, are set to be shown next year.
“We’re done. I have reviewed cars on TV since 1989. That’s 34 years. And after next year, I won’t be doing that any more,”
Jeremey Clarkson, in The TIMES
This marks the end of a trio that began with the BBC’s Top Gear in 2002, before Mr. Clarkson was fired for punching a producer in 2015 (for which he later issued an apology). Mr. Hammond and Mr. May left as well to launch The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime the following year. But Mr. Clarkson came under fire once again for disparaging comments made about Meghan, the Dutchess of Sussex. The success of Clarkson’s Farm, currently streaming its second season on Amazon Prime (with at least a third under contract), as well Mr. May’s Our Man in … series, and Mr. Hammond’s DriveTribe social media channel were likely bigger factors.
The news follows the recent announcement that the BBC has “decided to rest” Top Gear “for the foreseeable future” after presenter Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff was hurt in a crash while filming last year. In an interview with the Today Podcast last week, Mr. May intimated that the format of three guys doing stuff in cars may have grown stale.
“My honest view is – I can say this now – it does need a bit of a rethink.
“It’s time for a new format and a new approach to the subject because the subject has not been this interesting, I suspect, since the car has been invented.”
JAMES MAY
The data might suggest otherwise, as both The Grand Tour and Top Gear continued to draw millions of viewers. Options are reportedly being explored for new incarnations. Those interested in slamming into the end of a wet tunnel at race speeds apply within.