Jeremy Clarkson, along with his co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond have announced the name of their upcoming show on Amazon Prime. The trio left BBC last year and signed with Amazon to revive the infamous Top Gear series but with a spin. And without further ado, the spanking new series will be called ‘The Grand Tour’ and will stream on Amazon Prime this autumn.
The show format is variably different from that of ‘Top Gear’, because the producers cannot copy the format from BBC on the grounds of copyright. But, why call it – The Grand Tour ?
Jeremy Clarkson in his announcement explains the series concept saying that,
We’ll be travelling the world hosting each episode in a different country, from a giant tent. It’s a sort of ‘grand tour,’ if you like. So we’ve decided to call it – The Grand Tour.
The new show will be shot in the form of short films over at different locations all around the world- which remains unchanged from the basic concept of Top Gear. But, the studio audience portion of the show has a new twist to it. The studio is now a ‘giant tent’ which will travel and showcase the show at a different location around the world every week. The live audience will be able to see the pre-recorded studio sessions now inside the giant tent, setup at a new location for each episode.
Richard Hammond has a positive outlook on the new concept and says that,
I already love camping. But this is something else. We are like our pioneering and prospecting forebears, sallying forth into a new frontier of broadcasting, and making our home where…(we go).
So, this particularly takes a punch at BBC and also justifies the travel spirit and adventure in calling the show – ‘The Grand Tour’.
This turn of events for Clarkson took place because BBC Studios decided not to renew his contract due to ‘unprovoked actions’ towards another Top Gear crew member. So, if Clarkson wasn’t staying, May and Hammond had no purpose staying with BBC. The new show over at Amazon is also being produced by Andy Wilman, who also quit Top Gear with Clarkson to produce the new show.
Now y’all must be wondering if the show is happening in a ‘giant tent’, when and how can we purchase tickets to be a part of the live audience?
Amazon has released the statement saying that,
Amazon customers from around the world will have the chance to be in the audience when tickets are released through a sweepstakes this summer. Details of the location schedule and information on how to apply for tickets will be announced shortly.
But, the only woeful situation in this proposition is that the tickets will only be available to Amazon customers, but does it refer to the Amazon Prime audience or Amazon users in general, is still unknown. More details will be specified as and when the show starts streaming on Amazon Prime in the coming months.
This will surely a one-shot opportunity for Amazon to bank upon the success and recognition of the trio, led by Clarkson. ‘The Grand Tour’ is expected to drive millions of new users, which means subscriptions to the Amazon Prime platform.
The ‘Top Gear’ alternative now know as ‘The Grand Tour’ joins Amazon Prime’s line-up of award-winning and critically-acclaimed TV shows and movies, which includes series like Mr. Robot, Downton Abbey, The Americans, Orphan Black.
