It looks like the U.S. is getting another crack at “Top Gear.”
With “Top Gear USA’s” nearly six-year run now a thing of the past, BBC America announced Monday a new U.S.-version of the popular car-centric TV show. Titled “Top Gear America,” the show’s first eight episodes will air on BBC America sometime in 2017, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Co-hosting the show will be actor William Ficthner from “Armageddon” and “Prison Break,” drag racer Antron Brown and British car journalist Tom “Wookie” Ford. Much like “Top Gear USA” before it, “Top Gear America” will look to put its own spin on the format that turned the original show into a globally recognized brand.
“We are big fans of the mix of cars, credibility and charisma that adds up to the winning formula for Top Gear, and couldn’t be happier that BBCA is now the home for the franchise in the US, with Top Gear America joining the original show on our network,” BBCA network president and general manager Sarah Barnett said, via Hollywood Reporter. “Bill, Antron and Wookie are serious gear heads who never take themselves too seriously. It will be quite the trip.”
Prior to this latest incarnation, U.S. versions of “Top Gear” have been hit or miss. Although “Top Gear USA” enjoyed decent success on History Channel from 2010 through 2016, NBC infamously attempted to launch its own version of the show in 2008, which ultimately was cancelled before its first episode.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Vanessa Lua
