Top Gear USA Has Been Cancelled

In a post on Facebook, Rutledge Wood announced that Tuesday's episode is the last that was filmed for History Channel.​

Top Gear USA, the History Channel's version of the long-running BBC automotive show, has been cancelled. Co-host Rutledge Wood announced in posts on Facebook and Instagram on Sunday night that the episode set to run on June 28th will be the last to air on the History Channel.
Top Gear USA had an uphill battle when it first hit the air. The show had to compete against the years-long popularity of the original BBC version starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. In the first season, the US version didn't have the polished production and unfakeable charm of the long-running British hosting trio.

But US hosts Rutledge Wood, Adam Ferrara, and Tanner Foust thankfully stuck with it. And as the trio worked together, they defined a Top Gear that could stand on its own, with enough unique features and local flavor to distinguish it from the British show it was named and modeled after.

And as BBC Top Gear imploded in the wake of Clarkson's firing, the History Channel version offered US viewers a distinct and sincerely enjoyable alternative.

Of course, having a US variant of the show only became more important when the BBC put the original Top Gear in for a full post-Clarkson revamp. While the BBC's new six-member Top Gear team tries to figure each other out, having Wood, Ferrara and Foust as the well-oiled US team was welcome and refreshing.

It's unclear what happens next. As Wood points out in his Facebook post, it seems like the History network has severed its ties with the program. Perhaps a different network, either on cable TV or online streaming, is interested in continuing with the show. We'll just have to wait and see.

Top Gear host Evans facing 'crisis talks' with BBC entertainment boss

Kate Phillips wants to rein in Evans' allegedly diva-like behavior and force him to release some creative control.

Chris Evans has a new boss, and it sounds like she's not too tolerant of the Top Gear host's allegedly diva-like behavior. Of course, this is a report from The Sun, essentially a gossip tabloid. But considering the numerous reports of behind-the-scenes trouble, we aren't recommending much salt with this story.

The BBC's new entertainment boss, Kate Phillips is going to have a sit down with Evans later this month to discuss his alleged tantrums. – the tabloid is calling it "crisis talks". Pushing the meeting back to the end of July gives the Beeb ammunition in the form of the worldwide viewing figures for Top Gear's most recent run. Phillips will reportedly draw up a plan to manage Evans' behavior and force him to release some creative control over the show, or risk losing the hosting gig on Top Gear's 24th season (or series, if you prefer British English).

If Evans gets the sack, The Sun claims the BBC sees Matt LeBlanc as the show's future. An unnamed source says the other hosts – Rory Reid, Chris Harris, Sabine Schmitz, and Eddie Jordan – would fall in with LeBlanc for an ensemble, rather than the Chris Evans-and-everyone-else format displayed earlier this season.

"Chris has annoyed a lot of the crew with his behavior and by being a control freak," the source claims. "He's now going to be told there will be changes and if he doesn't like it then he should go. Matt is more well-known and popular with audiences, so Chris will take a back seat like he did towards the end of the series."

For fans, Phillips' lordship over Top Gear is a good thing. According to the source, she was the driving force in bringing the celebrity ballroom dancing show Strictly Come Dancing to the US as the hugely successful Dancing With The Stars. That doesn't mean we'll see hosts doing the foxtrot with the guest of the week, but it does mean that the show has a steward that The Sun's source claims "knows what makes shows successful around the world." Sounds like just what Top Gear needs.

Final warning Chris Evans will be told to drop the tantrums in crisis talks with the Beeb’s new big boss… or face being kicked to the kerb

Motormouth DJ will be ordered to rein his behaviour in if he has any hope of returning for a second series

30th June 2016, 9:47 pm

TOP GEAR host CHRIS EVANS is heading for the biggest telling-off of his career.

The motormouth DJ has been summoned for crisis talks with the Beeb’s new entertainment boss after a string of complaints about his behaviour on set.

Kate Phillips will tell Evans to drop the tantrums and allow others to have some creative control, otherwise he is getting kicked to the kerb.

She will demand he stick to a plan drawn up to rein him in if he has any hope of returning for a second series.

Insiders have revealed Chris’s diva act is severely testing the patience of BBC execs, who see co-host MATT LeBLANC as the future of the show should Evans not change.

A Top Gear source said: “Chris has annoyed a lot of the crew with his behaviour and by being a control freak.

“He’s now going to be told there will be changes and if he doesn’t like it then he should go.

“Kate’s background at the BBC is taking Strictly to the US and she knows what makes shows successful around the world.

“Matt is more well-known and popular with audiences, so Chris will take a back seat like he did towards the end of the series.

"The other presenters will have a more prominent role and it will be seen as an ensemble rather than Chris and his team.”

The crisis talks are planned for later this month after the final episode of the six-show run airs on BBC2 on Sunday — and once worldwide viewing figures can be analysed.

It has already recorded its lowest-ever ratings under the revamp following JEREMY CLARKSON’s sacking last year.

Entertainment chief Kate is now spearheading transatlantic negotiations with Episodes and Friends star Matt, whose contract expired last week, to return for two more series.

Earlier this week I revealed how the corporation has already advertised internally for a series producer to wrestle back editorial control from Evans.

Beeb chiefs feel the programme was left “rudderless” when executive producer Lisa Clark quit in December, after just five months in the job, having clashed badly with Radio 2 breakfast show Chris.

However, they are publicly claiming that the new role reflects “greater ambitions”.

Their first ambition should be to win back fed-up viewers.

After weeks of poor critical reception from viewers and rumours of co-star Matt LeBlanc threatening to quit, Chris Evans has announced that he is to step down from his role as host of Top Gear. Announcing the news on Twitter, Evans said the he: “Gave it my best shot but sometimes that’s not enough.”

From reaction in mainstream media to our own opinion polls, it’s clear that Evans was the least liked aspect of Top Gear for much of the show’s audience. There had also been numerous newspaper reports of Evans being difficult to work with behind the scenes, claims he branded as “Mad and made up,” just before the series started.

In a statement, BBC Studios Director, BBC Studios Mark Linsey said: “Chris is stepping down from his duties on Top Gear. He says he gave it his best shot doing everything he could to make the show a success. He firmly believes that the right people remain, on both the production team and presenting team to take the show forward and make it the hit we want it to be.”

It’s not clear exactly what will happen next with the show. One option would be for Matt LeBlanc to be the only host, if the BBC choose not to directly replace Evans, which - judging by the wording of the statement from Linsey - might well be the case. Such a move would also free up space for Chris Harris and Rory Reid to appear more frequently, something which Top Gear producers may well be considering, since the pair have been well received by the audience and critics alike.

With Chris Evans at the helm, ratings for the show fell dramatically. After opening with 4.4 million overnight viewers, the show’s audience fell to 2.34 million by the fourth episode. The fifth episode fared better at 2.7 million viewers, but Sunday’s show was the least viewed so far with just 1.9 million tuning in.