Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear Exit Leaves Behind Bigotry and Stunted Masculinity

All good things must come to an end, and so too must the reign of the ex-Top Gear trio, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. When it was reported on Saturday that the three are parting ways after 21 years, it felt more like a whimper than a bang. The winding journey of their vehicular shenanigans seems to have finally run out of gas.

The core of the story centers around W Chump & Sons, the production company owned by Clarkson, Hammond, and May. It has reportedly been dissolved, signaling the likely end of The Grand Tour, Prime Video’s motoring and travel series. This show had been the spiritual successor to Top Gear, and its final episode with the original trio appears to have already been filmed, though it has yet to air. There’s no explicit explanation for what has caused this split, but one doesn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure it out. For the last two decades, their programming has often been regressive and mired in controversy. While such content might have kept audiences engaged and the show profitable in the past, it seems those days are over.

At its peak, Top Gear was a major hit for the BBC between 2003 and 2015. Clarkson, Hammond, and May were some of the most popular presenters on British TV. The immense viewership enabled the show to survive numerous controversies – from homophobic, racist, and ableist jokes to using slurs and making light of serious issues like the murders of sex workers. However, it was Clarkson’s physical assault on a producer that finally led to his ousting, and Hammond and May chose to leave with him. This led to the birth of The Grand Tour.

Top Gear continued on BBC with a series of new hosts until it was put on hiatus after presenter Freddie Flintoff was involved in a near-fatal car crash. The announcement of the hiatus didn’t stir much outcry, reflecting how far the show had fallen from its glory days. Meanwhile, The Grand Tour on Prime Video has had a decent run, though it’s existed largely out of the public eye. Amazon doesn’t release viewership data, but a 2018 Reuters report claimed it was the streamer’s most successful show for signing up new subscribers. Nevertheless, it’s an expensive production and doesn’t get much chatter in the media. Compared to Clarkson’s other Prime Video venture, the buzzworthy agricultural reality series Clarkson’s Farm, The Grand Tour is practically invisible. In some respects, this anonymity is an improvement over the scandal-plagued tenure of Top Gear, suggesting that the trio’s main appeal might have always been the controversies they stirred.

The trio’s divergence in career paths is also notable. Clarkson has always been the standout, both as a television personality and as a controversial tabloid columnist. However, it’s his pivot to farming and his role in Clarkson’s Farm that has won him broader appeal, even winning over many former critics. Hammond and May haven’t been able to match Clarkson’s solo success. Although both have kept busy – May with his toy-themed docuseries and cooking and travel shows, and Hammond with series like Brainiac and Total Wipeout – neither have achieved the profile they once had as part of the Top Gear trio. The decision to join Clarkson on Prime Video was likely driven by self-interest as much as loyalty.

Yet it might be too soon for Clarkson to celebrate. In December 2022, he risked his career with a controversial piece targeting the Duchess of Sussex. There were reports that Amazon was considering canceling The Grand Tour and curtailing Clarkson’s Farm after the agreed four seasons. These claims have been contested, including by Clarkson, and the success of Clarkson’s Farm, now the highest-performing UK original in Amazon’s history, suggests future renewals are possible.

The breakup of Clarkson, Hammond, and May marks the end of an era, but not one that seems particularly lamented. Their combined legacy is tarnished by bigotry and a dated sense of masculinity. If after 21 years in the industry, the best acclaim for your work is centered on “good banter,” it signifies a failure to push the boundaries of what television could be. If you don’t elevate the form, the form will inevitably evolve and surpass you.

Source: Various sources