Quake3World

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.

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.

xer0s wrote:

LawL wrote:

xer0s wrote:

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

fair enough

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.

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

plained wrote:better ... America style!

syp0s wrote: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.

losCHUNK wrote:
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.

Doombrain wrote:

LawL wrote: