Home Entertainment The new Top Gear team needs insurance in this first trailer for season 24

The new Top Gear team needs insurance in this first trailer for season 24

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So… Top Gear. Once the biggest car show on the planet, the long-running BBC production took a huge hit when its trio of presenters, as popular as they are controversial (well, at least for one of them), decided to call it quits after the latest fracas they had caused. Faced with being fired for punching of a producer, Jeremy Clarkson gathered up his co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May, as well as their huge fanbase and went off to make The Grand Tour with Amazon. And honestly, it was… okay.

But we’re not here to talk about that show and how everything the unholy trinity of motoring journalism touches does in fact not turn to gold. We’re here to talk about the fallout of their actions, which saw the BBC sign radio DJ/motorsport fanatic Chris Evans (no, not Captain America Chris Evans) and popular US actor/petrol head Matt LeBlanc to front a newly retooled Top Gear, along with a lineup of support hosts in the form of Chris Harris, Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz and Eddie Jordan. Unfortunately, people hated them before they had even done anything, simply for the fact that they weren’t Clarkson, Hammond and May.

It also didn’t help that lead host Harris was a screechy annoyance who got under some people’s skin, or that some of the presenters, like Schmitz and Jordan, just didn’t have the innate comic timing or personality to carry the show as seemingly effortlessly as their predecessors did. The result was a tank in the ratings of Top Gear for its 23nd season, and Evans – who took the most criticism from fans and press alike – actually resigning after the season finale. There were some alarmists who called for this to be the end of the show, but luckily cooler heads prevailed at the BBC as it was announced last year September that the remaining five hosts would stay on, and that LeBlanc, Harris and Reid would now become the three lead hosts.

I actually called for this format in an article I wrote last year, as I felt the three were the perfect mix of personalities to get Top Gear to where it was: LeBlanc is the wry and dry American, Harris is the unhinged wildman and Reid is the lovable nice guy in the middle. And that’s seemingly exactly what we’re getting in the upcoming 24th season of the show. Well that and also drifting a 1,036bhp Ferrari FXX K, partaking in a car chase with Aston Martin’s new DB11, having a bit of a coming together in a race across the Kazakhstan wilderness, and picking up naked hikers in an Avtoros Shaman. Sounds like a good time to me!

Check all of this out in a recently released extended trailer for the upcoming season.

There’s no release date set yet for when Top Gear season 24 will launch or how Schmitz and Jordan will fit into the new lineup, but BBC indicates that “more will be revealed soon”.

Last Updated: February 9, 2017

19 Comments

  1. Enjoyed Le Blanc, hated Evans. Watched 3 episodes of S23 (well, 2 and a bit) before I gave up.

    Grand Tour was . . . ok, I guess. I think they were trying too hard

    Will give S24 a test drive when it arrives

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      February 9, 2017 at 10:52

      I quite like most of TGT

      Reply

      • Matthew Holliday

        February 9, 2017 at 12:02

        First few episodes were really fun, watching them throw subtle shade at the BBC was hilarious.
        But towards the end, it started getting a bit too scripted and lost some of its shine.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief

          February 9, 2017 at 13:09

          I’m just past the Moroccan episode (was not even closely as funny as the others)

          Reply

          • Matthew Holliday

            February 9, 2017 at 15:44

            That episode showed so much promise at the start.
            Then they spent 30 minutes weighing cows and goats…

          • Admiral Chief

            February 10, 2017 at 06:42

            IKR? What was up with that?

          • Matthew Holliday

            February 10, 2017 at 12:26

            That was pretty much the story of most of that series, like I said, not perfect, but still good stuff.

    • Original Heretic

      February 9, 2017 at 10:58

      Grand Tour only okay?! NYET! Loved watching it. Those three together are awesome. Yes, there are a couple of “set pieces”, but they’re portrayed very tongue in cheek.

      Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      February 9, 2017 at 11:05

      I loved The Grand Tour.. granted some parts fell flat but it’s the first attempt and overall I thought it was brilliant.

      I loved Top Gear last season apart from Evans, he was so annoying. Now that he’s gone I’m psyched for this season

      Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      February 9, 2017 at 11:59

      Had the same thoughts as you with grand tour, very try hard.

      There was alot that I liked, but there was also alot that I didnt.
      Wanted more of a car show and less of a “build a scale and weigh goats for 30 minutes” type series.
      Also was really interested in some of the celebrities they invited then didnt interview.

      The new top gear lineup is promising though, the 3 that are left are by far my favorites out of the 100 presenters they had.
      I thought Leblanc shined, or atleast he did standing next to Evans who was just the worst. he’s an actor, script him and he’ll be fine.
      Ive been following Harris since he was with Drive magazine, he’s a quality driver and really knows his stuff, even if his presenting is a bit average.
      Reid was just, okay, but he wasnt annoying and was quite practical. But he’s nice, which is cool.

      Reply

    • Peter Pan

      February 9, 2017 at 13:42

      Yeah. I agree. LeBlanc was the better of the hosts and seemed more natural to me. I don’t have much to say about the other two. Maybe now that most people have hopefully got over the change in hosts, the series might get its dues now, and people will hopefully start looking at it as its own monster rather than a series that has outgrown is value.

      Regarding GT, it was okay, but I’m hoping the first season was just teething problems and that the next season will up the ante. That whole Celebrity Brain Crash thing irritated the hell out of me. I would always fast forward that part.

      Reply

      • Kervyn Cloete

        February 9, 2017 at 15:36

        Yeah Celebrity Brain Crash was just funny the first time. After that it was just unnecessary waffling.

        Reply

  2. Magoo

    February 9, 2017 at 10:42

    Actually looks pretty good.

    Reply

  3. Original Heretic

    February 9, 2017 at 10:57

    Huh? Harris resigned? I thought it was Evans who quit due to flack…

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      February 9, 2017 at 11:25

      I don’t know what you’re talking about. I clearly wrote that Evans was the one that resigned, and not Harris. Only an idiot would make that kind of mistake.

      Reply

      • Original Heretic

        February 9, 2017 at 11:27

        Damn my idiot eyes. I see now that you DID write Evans.

        Reply

    • Fox1 - Retro

      February 9, 2017 at 14:23

      There can only be one Chris.

      Reply

      • Original Heretic

        February 9, 2017 at 14:25

        Huh? Did he suddenly go Highlander on us?

        Reply

  4. Captain JJ

    March 14, 2017 at 13:27

    Oh, very interesting. I really do enjoy Top Gear these days.

    Reply

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