Former Top Gear hosts to make new auto show for Amazon

[DTS]

Despite rumors of a deal with Netflix another streaming giant will re-unite the three former Top Gear hosts. The new auto show will start streaming on Amazon next year.


Starting in 2016
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are best known for BBC's extremely popular "Top Gear" auto show that was estimated to have about 350 million viewers worldwide. Earlier this year, BBC and the trio parted ways.

The trio has reportedly been in talks with Netflix and British ITV but in the end they signed an agreement with Amazon. The retail giant is pushing its fast-growing Amazon Instant Video streaming service that is operating in the US, Germany, the UK and other some countries. The new show will be available exclusively on Amazon in its existing markets and Amazon says that it will license it to broadcasters other regions.

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?su ... 1438261922

They will now make the unnamed new programme with former Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman, who also quit the BBC following the "fracas".

In a statement from Amazon, Clarkson said: "I feel like I've climbed out of a biplane and into a spaceship."

...

Wilman told the Radio Times the team would begin working on the new series as soon as they return from their summer holidays.

He said they agreed a deal with Amazon because "they'll give us the freedom to make the programme we want...there's a budget to produce programmes of the quality we want and this is the future".

Wilman added the format of the new show would contain "themes people will be familiar with".

"I can't tell you how good it feels to get the chance to produce something from scratch," he said. "We're all really excited. No one telling us what we can and can't do, just us hopefully producing great programmes. It feels really liberating."

...

Meanwhile, Top Gear will continue on BBC Two, with Chris Evans among the new hosts.

Lisa Clark, who worked with Evans on The Big Breakfast, has just been announced as the show's new producer. "Lisa is as good as it gets when it comes to making big, important television shows," Evans said.

The presenter also fuelled rumours that Formula 1 driver Jenson Button was "in talks" to co-present the show when he read out a Daily Mail article on his BBC Radio 2 radio show.

"They say an announcement is imminent," Evans teased.

Neither the BBC nor Button's spokesman would comment on the speculation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33715671

[shaft]

[Eraser]

Dammit, I was hoping for Netflix to pick this up.

[Κracus]

Same here... The website Streetfire.net typically has all the episodes on their site though. fyi.

[seremtan]

so basically Amazon said "here: have a metric fuckton of money and make whatever show you want"

fair enough

[xer0s]

[LawL]

[Doombrain]

[Don Carlos]

so basically Amazon said "here: have a metric fuckton of money and make whatever show you want"

fair enough

My thoughts exactly

[PhoeniX]

I was hoping it went to Netflix too. Mind you, at Amazon they've been given ~£4.5m per episode, I predict a lot of blown-up cars.

A friend of mine's a manager at Amazon. Time to hit him up for some free prime..

[losCHUNK]

4.5m !?

I think the budget at the beeb was 500k per ep.

[PhoeniX]

The team have committed to 36 episodes of a new car show, as yet untitled, meaning each episode will have a budget of around £4.5 million.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 44856.html


Be interesting to see what they do. 500k seems pretty low considering just how much they earned the BBC and the production quality.

[seremtan]

£4.5m per episode? holy fucking shiiiiiiit

they could just torch a Veyron at the end of every episode and sit around it toasting marshmallows

[syp0s]

When these shows get larger budgets, it almost always spells disaster. They won't use the money to hire better writers, they'll just do the same tired shit they've done for the last five series' but with more expensive stuff.

I have a feeling the Amazon Top Gear is basically going to be 36 Clarkson DVD specials featuring Hammond and May.

[MKJ]

I agree. Less restraints does not equal more creativity, contrary to common belief.

[obsidian]

Truth. I didn't enjoy the super car showdowns so much as the old beaters they had to modify and drive into the ground.

Although, I don't think you can take the total value divided by the number of episodes. I expect there to be a large amount of that earmarked for start up expenses like sets, cameras and other equipment.

[plained]

i dont watch, or ever have watched the show but i believe it will be bigger and better than b4

theyre free now and that point will be made in a big way

America style!

[Chupacabra]

I agree. Less restraints does not equal more creativity, contrary to common belief.

[seremtan]

better ... America style!

pick one

[losCHUNK]

When these shows get larger budgets, it almost always spells disaster. They won't use the money to hire better writers, they'll just do the same tired shit they've done for the last five series' but with more expensive stuff.

I have a feeling the Amazon Top Gear is basically going to be 36 Clarkson DVD specials featuring Hammond and May.

I was kinda hoping they'd stick to the specials, I'd imagine those kind of eps would eat up a load of the seasons budget ?. You're prolly right though, the production value at the beeb was always top notch and they'll have a lot of work to do if they're gonna pull it off.

This could be Clarksons last pay day before he retires.

[seremtan]

was sys0p a shepherd before he became a photographer?

that's quite a herd he's got following him

[Doombrain]

it should just die. it's been formula for years now.

[syp0s]

I was kinda hoping they'd stick to the specials, I'd imagine those kind of eps would eat up a load of the seasons budget ?. You're prolly right though, the production value at the beeb was always top notch and they'll have a lot of work to do if they're gonna pull it off.

This could be Clarksons last pay day before he retires.

Yeah that's the thing, the production crew on Top Gear were astounding. World class in fact. When you look at Clarkson's specials, the DVD ones, the production quality is totally generic. That makes me think that the team who do Top Gear are BBC, and not hired by the producers. If they were from Jeremy's side, all the DVD specials would have that same top quality finish.

The more I think about it, the more I think it's going to be shit.

You're right, though, putting the production quality aside, if this is basically just a 36 episode series of specials/challenges, it'll be what Top Gear should've been.

[vileliquid1026]

[ToxicBug]

Amazon boss admits Top Gear hosts were ‘very, very, very expensive’