Some Amazon Prime viewers are up in arms just minutes into what they’re slamming as ‘very insulting’ release of The Not Very Grand Tour.
The streaming giant is dropping four special episodes intended to pay homage to the car-centric magazine-style series once helmed by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. The Grand Tour picked up where the trio left off after their stint on BBC’s Top Gear.
After switching lanes from the Beeb to Amazon Prime Video in 2016, the team delivered six seasons followed by a selection of specials from 2019 to 2024. The final bow, dubbed ‘One For The Road’, hit screens in September 2024, with Clarkson citing the increasing challenges of producing such an ambitious show as the reason for its curtain call.
Yet, despite the supposed end, a fresh special series has hit the platform. The first instalment of this four-part retrospective dropped today (April 18), revisiting classic moments from The Grand Tour, reports Gloucestershire Live.
This time, however, only Hammond and May are back to present, with Clarkson bowing out of the reunion.
Fans aren’t thrilled about being served a rehash of old material, taking to social media to vent their frustration. One disgruntled viewer vented on X: “Well The Not Very Grand Tour was just a clip show, you could have done more like have made new segments specifically for it….”
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Over on Reddit, a thread brimming with comments from fans with similar views saw one user say: “Unpopular opinion but I can just put on a YouTube playlist and watch this show for free any time I want.”
The same person added disappointment about the content offered: “It feels almost insulting that this is what we’re getting. With the hours upon hours of footage shot for the Grand Tour they could have done something really great and done some fantastic new behind the scenes stuff. All we’re getting is reheated clips with a two minute introduction from two thirds of the team. Frankly it’s just not good enough.”
However, there was still warmth for the nostalgia from some quarters, with an individual confessing: “They used to do clip show for top gear too and I enjoyed them. There’s nothing wrong with these as long as they include a bit of previously un released content or new narration by James and Hammond.”
That said, a notable number of voices lamented the redundancy of such shows in our streaming-savvy era, where many fans choose to revisit favourite episodes at their leisure.
An especially passionate fan pleaded: “Don’t trot out the mutilated remains of The Grand Tour, and ask me to pretend it’s fresh content. Just let it go already. Or like, give me a directors commentary track.”
The Not Very Grand Tour is streaming on Amazon Prime.
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