BBC American in collaboration with Top Gear has released a teaser trailer for the next season of the popular motoring show. The program certainly hasn't lost its production value although without beloved hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, one can't help but wonder its fate beyond the upcoming season.
In March 2015, host Jeremy Clarkson got into an argument with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon about catering arrangements. Reports claim Clarkson physically assaulted Tymon which ultimately led to his dismissal from the show a few weeks later. Co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May quickly followed, leaving the show in limbo.
The BBC decided to continue producing the show, hiring Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc to handle hosting duties for season 23. Forging ahead without the trio of hosts that were largely responsible for making Top Gear the most widely watched factual television program in the world seems like a monumentally impossible task.
As of writing, the trailer above has just over 100,000 views on YouTube with nearly 11,000 "dislikes" compared to just 3,776 "likes."
Many thought they would never see the trio appear on another car show but fate had other plans. Last summer, Amazon announced it had signed Clarkson, Hammond and May to host a minimum of three seasons of a motoring show that'll debut exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Filming for the unnamed show, which is being produced by Andy Wilman of Top Gear fame, began last summer with plans for the first season to arrive this summer.
Top Gear returns in the UK on May 8 and will air on BBC America later in the month.