We’ve known it was coming for a while, but now it’s official: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are finally going their separate ways. On July 11, the trio famous for making “Top Gear” an international hit filed the paperwork to dissolve their production company, W. Chump & Sons, the Daily Mail reports. And just like that, an era that spans 21 years is finally over.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be more to see from Clarkson, Hammond and May, though. Their Zimbabwe special for “The Grand Tour” still has yet to air, although we’re not sure how good it will actually be. Their last special, Sand Job, wasn’t as bad as we initially thought, but it was still bland and forgettable. Still, it’s the trio’s last hoorah together, so, we can’t imagine the quality is going to keep most people from watching anyway.
As far as solo projects go, Clarkson still has “Clarkson’s Farm” and apparently just bought a pub. Hopefully, he’s learned by now to keep his hands to himself, otherwise, that could end badly. Hammond doesn’t appear to have anything new coming out in the near future but has worked on several other projects over the past several years, including “The Great Escapists,” “Richard Hammond’s Crazy Contraptions” and “Britain’s Beautiful Rivers with Richard Hammond.” James May, meanwhile, continues to work on “James May: Our Man in…” and “James May: Oh Cook!”
Just because Clarkson, Hammond and May are leaving “The Grand Tour,” though, doesn’t mean the show is necessarily over. Amazon has hinted for a while that it will attempt to reboot the series with new hosts. We can’t imagine that going well, especially having seen how “Top Gear” struggled after Clarkson was fired, and the other two resigned. Still, you never know. Maybe new hosts and writers with new ideas is exactly what “The Grand Tour” needs.