Back in May of 2015, the BBC booted one of its most popular (and controversial) public figures by firing Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson after he reportedly struck one of the show’s producers during an altercation. Clarkson promptly jumped ship to streaming and retail giant Amazon, bringing his co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond with him and leaving Top Gear to putter unhappily along under the command of American actor Matt LeBlanc and single-season host Chris Evans.
Now, Clarkson is gearing up for his big TV return, with Amazon announcing a launch date for The Grand Tour. The car-centric series will premiere on November 18, with 12 episodes releasing weekly on Amazon Prime. (Also, all three hosts have a contract in place to produce two more similar-length seasons for Amazon in subsequent years.)
As far as content is concerned, meanwhile, The Grand Tour sounds unsurprisingly similar to Top Gear, complete with fast cars, silly pranks, and celebrity guests like Matt Damon and Charlize Theron, Imperator Furiosa herself. (As the title suggests, though, the show’s focus will be increasingly international in scope, with production spotted in California and Italy so far.) Amazon released a quick teaser for the show yesterday, revealing that, aside from the setting, Clarkson, Hammond, and May don’t seem to have felt the need to change up their formula much, with the trio still drifting haphazardly around race tracks and happily screaming banter.
