A fresh trailer for The Grand Tour just dropped, giving us a look at the new trio of hosts in action. Amazon Prime’s adventurous car show is under a lot of cultural pressure because of how iconic its predecessors and previous hosts are. But from where I’m sitting, it looks like Thomas Holland, James Engelsman, and Francis Bourgeois have a better chance of success than others who have attempted to re-create the magic of Y2K-era BBC Top Gear.
First, let’s talk about what’s new. This 75-second clip gives us a taste of the fresh cast dynamic and the show’s aesthetic.
Like the last iteration of The Grand Tour and Top Gear before it, it looks like a combo of high-performance track driving, adventures, and goofy shenanigans. The most critical difference I’m picking up on is that, while the basic premise is the same, the host personalities are distinctly different—not only from each other, but also from the last set of GT/TG hosts. And that right there is what gives me the most hope and confidence in this release of the show.
Holland and Engelsman are established automotive media personalities thanks to their YouTube channel Throttle House. They’ve got car-guy creds, conversational chemistry, and a mass-audience-friendly approach that can bring anybody into cars better than, say, hardcore racers or deep car geeks. Bourgeois is famous in a completely different corner of the internet: trainspotting on TikTok. But he has a uniquely genuine enthusiasm that stands out without being cartoonish or looking like an act.
The other recent Top Gear-type show reboots we’ve seen have mostly been some version of famous funny guys plus one hardcore car guy. And I’m not saying the Top Gear USA (the Tanner Foust one), Top Gear America (the Dax Shepard one), Top Gear circa 2017 (the Matt LeBlanc one), or Top Gear circa 2020 (the Chris Harris one) were bad—they just, I think, tried too hard to recreate exactly what Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May had built.
For those just catching up: Top Gear is many different shows, and a website, and a magazine, among other things. But to most viewers, Top Gear means Clarkson, Hammond, and May going on adventures and razzing each other along the way. Over the course of many years, they cultivated three characters with very entertaining chemistry that cemented them as fan favorites. I would go so far as to say that particular trio is forever enshrined as a core piece of 2000s car culture.
When their run of Top Gear ended, Amazon adopted them, and they did pretty much the same thing on The Grand Tour. Now, Top Gear (sorry, I mean The Grand Tour)’s “holy trinity” is moving on altogether. And while Clarkson has officially given his blessing to the new team, they still need to win over the audience.
Based on all the sizzle reels I’ve seen, and now today’s new trailer, I’m really optimistic about the new crew. Nobody will ever replace Clarkson, Hammond, and May—they came up in an entirely different media environment from today’s. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have a great, fun car show featuring three people on a grand tour. And from the looks of what we’ve seen so far, I think that’s exactly what we’re getting with the “new knobs” of GT.
I've been a fan of Throttle House for years, so I'm looking forward to Thomas and James doing things with a larger budget; however, I know nothing about this Bourgeois guy.
My main concern is that those behind the camera don't force the already light and funny relationship Thomas and James have on Throttle House into something stilted and forced, as it was with Jay Leno on the network version of his YouTube Garage show. It definitely felt scripted and somehow boring.
"I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes"
Posts: 18563 | Location: Sonoma County, CA | Registered: April 09, 2004
Perfect timing. I suppose this could be considered an unofficial Grand Tour episode:
"I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes"
Posts: 18563 | Location: Sonoma County, CA | Registered: April 09, 2004
They do seem to have good chemistry and I'll check it out. I just kinda wish they'd call it something else. TG/GT is not a repeatable success without Jeremy, and to a lesser extent Hammond and May.
There ain't much difference in the man I want to be and the man that I really am.
Posts: 11012 | Location: Marietta, GA | Registered: February 10, 2009
I caught the first episode of the new grand tour tonight and enjoyed it a lot. I will continue to watch it.
_________________________ “Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. –Daniel Webster (1782-1852)"
Posts: 19637 | Location: Foothills of the Sierra Nevada | Registered: July 27, 2004
I have to concur. I watched the first episode with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it I liked the new cast as well (and the way they integrated the original).
Posts: 712 | Location: Pittsburgh, Pa | Registered: January 28, 2007
I am pleasantly surprised. I had low expectations but the guys are fun to watch and already have a fun dynamic. Having Mr Wilman running the show surely helps, but I think they have a winner here.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears above ground he is a protector. Plato
Posts: 1800 | Location: Texas! | Registered: June 13, 2013
Watched the first episode last night. Loved how they started it with the trip to the tent.
It's not Clarkson/Hammond/May, but they seem to have some good chemistry between them. Reminds me more of CarTrek [YouTube series with VinWiki, Tavarish and Hoovie's Garage] with a bigger budget, which isn't a bad thing either.
