It’s the end of an era for fans of The Grand Tour. After eight years, Amazon's motoring show as we know is ending later this year with one last special.
However, in a surprise revelation, The Grand Tour will reportedly continue with a fresh format and a new set of presenters, despite Clarkson, Hammond, and May’s affiliation with the show.
A "fresh version" of The Grand Tour reboot is reportedly coming
According to TV industry magazine Broadcast via Yahoo News, Studio Lambert (the production company behind The Traitors, Gogglebox and Squid Game: The Challenge) has secured a contract to “develop a fresh version” of The Grand Tour with new presenters.
The new presenters are unknown and the new vision for the show is not yet clear. When it launched in 2016, The Grand Tour was Amazon’s answer to Top Gear, with a mix of road tests, celebrity interviews (we’d rather forget about Celebrity Brain Crash), and extended road trips in exotic locations.
After three seasons, the studio format was abandoned in favour of sporadic road trip specials in 2019. The show even spawned a shortlived video game aptly called The Grand Tour Game on PS4 and Xbox One.
Can The Grand Tour survive without Clarkson, Hammond, and May?
As history has shown with Top Gear, reviving a car show with a new set of presenters is no easy feat. After Clarkson, Hammond, and May left Top Gear following Clarkson’s infamous “fracas” with a producer, the show was rebooted in 2016 with a new overcrowded presenter lineup featuring Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, and Eddie Jordon.
With viewing figures at an all-time low, Evans left the show after one season. Top Gear was later rebooted again in 2019 with another new presenting team, with comedian Paddy McGuinness and former cricketer Freddie Flintoff joining Chris Harris.
With Top Gear on hiatus after Flintoff was injured in an accident during filming, we’re glad that The Grand Tour seemingly hasn’t reached the end of the road.
But without Clarkson, Hammond, and May’s inimitable chemistry, to say that the “fresh version” of the show will have a lot to live up to is an understatement. For many fans, the beloved trio and their banter are an integral part of the show. On the other hand, a fresh format could revitalise the show and help it find a new generation of fans.
Final Zimbabwe special airing later this year
Following the Sand Job special earlier this year, the final episode of The Grand Tour will air on Amazon sometime later this year. The final special will take place in Zimbabwe, but no other details have been confirmed yet. Presumably, it will be another extended road trip across difficult terrain in unsuitable cars.
In an interview with The Times, Clarkson confirmed that the next episode of The Grand Tour will be the last as he feels “we’ve done everything you can do with a car” and that he’s “unfit and fat and old.”
Hopefully, the final episode will be a grand sendoff that celebrates Clarkson, Hammond, and May’s long car TV careers over the last two decades with Top Gear and The Grand Tour.
Both shows have played a big part in catapulting car culture to the mainstream. If Top Gear and The Grand Tour are over, it will be to see the end of big-budget car shows on TV and streaming services.
Will you still watch The Grand Tour without Clarkson, Hammond and May? Let us know in the comments below.
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