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When I spoke to new presenting trio James Engelsman, Francis Bourgeois and Thomas Holland about their debut on The Grand Tour, I admitted that I am an absolute dunce when it comes to cars. Are they prepared to impart wisdom to idiots like me? “Well, did you enjoy it [the series]?” Engelsman asks me. When I reply yes, he says “That’s all that matters.”
In a nutshell, this is what I think we need to keep coming back to now that Prime Video has revamped its hit car show. Not everybody is going to be thrilled with the changes, and understandably so — original presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are the absolute lifeblood of the concept. But at the end of the day, no single person can sustain a light entertainment show forever.
And light entertainment The Grand Tour is. None of the core sections of the show have been altered, with our new trio still galivanting across the world in expensive supercars, or doing something stupid like sticking parts of a classic school bus to a microcar. If chaos is what you’re tuning in for, it hasn’t gone anywhere.
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Neither, in a way, have the original trio. Amazon has shrewdly been able to include their spirit and legacy in a way that doesn’t overshadow the authority of the new presenters (no spoilers here, though), and the new six episodes feel like the perfect homage to everything that has come before.
Do I miss Clarkson, Hammond and May having the run of resources and Amazon budget? Without question. But just because something has changed doesn’t inherently make it worse.
Don’t write our new hosts of The Grand Tour off as mere ‘content creators’
If, like me, you’re chronically online but don’t fall into any type of niche content, you might only recognize one of the three faces above. Bourgeois went viral on TikTok for his (frankly, nerdy) love of trains, but the internet was won over by his wholesome charm. As luck would have it, his love and understanding of cars is almost as strong as a high-carbon steel train track.
But our other two presenters shouldn’t be overlooked. Engelsman and Holland are the creators of popular car YouTube channel Throttle House. Fans have dubbed it “the spiritual successor to Top Gear for years,” and with a similar blend of fun and smarts, it’s easy to see why. They even had Hammond on in a cameo role years before any of the TV stuff took off.
For the trio to be asked to take over feels somewhat written in the stars, particularly as more traditional media formats are actively looking to capitalize on the success of online influencers. However, TV and content creation are two entirely different disciplines, and having an active social media presence doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll make a great presenter.
Yes, there are bouts of awkwardness, stilted banter and hesitant connection, but there’s a great deal of promise in the three as a newly-formed team. There’s an underlying ease between them that proves why they were brought together, and their expansive love for all things transport is all the glue that they really need. In time, they’ll clearly be seasoned, and I don’t think they’ll need much help to get them to that level.
Yes, I still miss the original team — I can’t help it
I’m desperate to talk about — but won’t, at least here — the ways that Prime Video has incorporated the essence of Clarkson, Hammond and May into The Grand Tour‘s new episodes, but you’re just going to have to see it to believe it. It’s a mixture of passing the baton onto a new generation, and knowing there’s a huge chance that viewership will drop if they’re not somehow included.
The meat of the show, from the global car trips to sheer stupidity, acts as a constant, regardless of who is presenting. Our new boys might not be as hilariously mean to each other as the originals were, but the spirit of just being idiots on the telly hasn’t died out. Who is involved here almost doesn’t matter, because you’re so wrapped up in the possibility of that being you. I hate driving, but I still want to try out a supercar on the palm tree-laden streets of Malaysia.
Ultimately, The Grand Tour‘s revamp is as successful as it ever could have been. Nothing has been compromised, yet everything subtly feels different… in a positive way. A particular shoutout must go to Bourgeois, who I think is easily the strongest of the bunch. His combination of deep-dive intellect and soft-spoken delivery will make him the James May of tomorrow, and I can’t help but feel immensely proud of that.
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jasmine.valentine@futurenet.com (Jasmine Valentine)
