By: Owen Fugit

Editor-in-Chief

On Sept. 13, the final episode in the wildly popular Amazon Prime TV show The Grand Tour aired to an audience of millions. This episode signaled the end of an era in motoring television, as the show’s three presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond, swore to stop filming together with the release of the final episode, entitled One For The Road. 

The Grand Tour follows Clarkson, Hammond, and May as they travel the world, review cars, and take on challenges. While the Grand Tour has only been in production since 2015, the show’s premise and presenters are not new to the motoring world. They hosted the hit BBC show Top Gear from 2002 until 2015, when BBC fired Clarkson for an altercation on set.  Amazon subsequently picked up Clarkson alongside his co-presenters from Top Gear. One For The Road follows Clarkson, Hammond, and May in their final adventure together as they attempt to cross Zimbabwe on a journey of 1,200 miles in three classic cars. The trio mutually agreed to finish their careers as presenters and go their separate ways after 22 years together. 

One For The Road is a series of lasts: the last time the trio sets off on an adventure, the last time that they drive through a crowded, traffic-ridden foreign capital, and the last time they powerslide a car on television. Clarkson put it bluntly: “It’s strange when you think about it, because everybody does everything in their life for the last time at some point. The last time you dive off a boat…But you don’t know when you’re doing it, that you’re doing it for the last time.” The episode feels like a heartfelt, drawn-out farewell from the beloved hosts. 

When Amazon released the trailer for the episode online, many flocked to comment sections and social media posts to discuss the impact of Top Gear and The Grand Tour on their lives. On YouTube, the trailer has over 2.1 million views and seven thousand comments ranging from emotional, sincere comments to concise thank yous and goodbyes. One For The Road has a 9.6 out of ten on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) with more than 2,500 reviews so far, according to critics on the review site Rotten Tomatoes. The finale may not be the trio’s most exciting adventure, but the episode has “plenty of the charismatic camaraderie that has turned this unlikely trio into televisual royalty.”

Even though Clarkson, Hammond, and May will not be working together on projects in the future, they each have their own projects and in some cases, entire TV shows for fans to enjoy. Most notable is Clarkson, who owns a farm in England and turned his farming antics into one of the most popular shows on Amazon Prime, garnering 5.1 million views in the week following the release of the third season. Clarkson’s Farm is now renewed for a fourth season. In 2021, James May launched his own brand of gin, creatively called James Gin. As for Hammond, he has his own TV show with Discovery titled Richard Hammond’s Workshop, where Hammond restores classic cars. Old Top Gear episodes are available to buy on Amazon Prime Video, and Grand Tour episodes can be viewed for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.

(Sources: Deadline, IMDb, RadioTimes, Rotten Tomatoes)