History renews American 'Top Gear'
Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood will return
The hosts of the U.S. 'Top Gear'
Credit: History
It took many years to get an American version of "Top Gear" on the air, but History is planning to keep the car-crazy series around.
History announced on Thursday (Feb. 10) that the U.S. "Top Gear" has been renewed for a second season, beginning production this spring.
"'Top Gear' is our baby so you can understand why Hammond, May and I were anxious about passing it on to the presenters of the US show. We needn't have worried because 'Top Gear' is clearly in safe hands, even if they do insist on speaking in those stupid accents," states U.K. "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson. "Watching an episode from series 1 with Richard and James, we found ourselves in a genuinely heated debate about which of the presenters’ cars was best. We were just three ordinary chaps watching a car show and loving it, which is exactly what Top Gear should be. Bring on series 2."
Across the Pond, "Top Gear" premiered way back in 1977 and has undergone a number of permutations, ranking consistently as BBC Two's most-watched program, in its current guise. That version of "Top Gear" currently airs on BBC America.
The American version is hosted by comedian Adam Ferrara, champion rally and drift racer Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood. History bosts that the first season was watched by nearly 60 million viewers overall, a number that doesn't really mean much of anything. History boasts that the "Top Gear" audience is the network's youngest ever for any series.
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
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February 10, 2011 at 8:14PM EST Reply to CommentThis show will remain a pale shadow of the UK version until it dumps Tanner and Adam.
lem
February 10, 2011 at 8:18PM EST Reply to CommentDidn't really mind it...wouldn't mind it getting renewed. Thought Tanner's driving skills compensated for his stiffness...adam on the other hand brought absolutely nothing to the proceedings...
Stan
February 10, 2011 at 9:46PM EST Reply to CommentNone of these hosts have personalities. Plus, part of the appeal of the UK version is learning about a slew of cool cars that aren't available in the US that most of us have never heard of. Watching three stiffs talk about corvettes and Fords and Dodge Vipers just isn't interesting.
jason
February 28, 2011 at 9:24PM EST Reply to CommentWell I would hate to be the lone stick in the mud, but I like the show. I like seeing about American cars, as well as European cars. And frankly comparing the two show to one another, well ti isn't even fair, Top gear has 15 seasons under it's belt, has well entrenched hosts, so its not a fair comparison. It is like says that Van Halen was going to be the same with Sammy Hagar as it was with David Lee Roth, it was instead a totally different band. Which this is a totally different show. I watch both shows, and will continue as long as they both are on, for the simple fact that I love cars, not jsut cars that aren't available to me. Working and subscribing to DISH network as well lets me watch both shows in crystal clear HD, and since my HD package is free for life with any top package, make Top gear that much better, both of them.