Top Gear Star Matt LeBlanc Calls It Quits
First, the world scratched its head at the Friends alum hosting Top Gear, but now we’re sad he’s leaving after next season.
After the heavily criticized and problematic first season of the rebooted U.K. car show, the second season of Top Gear kicked off and started to find a groove with Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid as the main hosts. Unfortunately, after season 3 where the show started to really come back into its own, LeBlanc has announced his intention to quit. According to the BBC, and a statement from Leblanc himself, the time commitment and extensive traveling are separating him too much from his friends and family.
On the surface, the lineup of new hosts seemed a strange choice. After Clarkson, Hammond and May vacated the show they had built into a worldwide phenomenon, it rebooted with an annoying radio DJ, a little-known YouTuber, a mad old man people vaguely remembered from F1, a lunatic German race car driver, one actual automotive journalist, and an American sitcom actor. For most though, it was LeBlanc that made the least sense. Sure, we knew he likes a Porsche here and there, and had been on Top Gear for a few cameos, but that dim-witted ladies man from Friends hosting the biggest TV car show in the world?
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It didn’t take long for LeBlanc win us over with his laid-back charm, humor, and way more automotive knowledge than anyone gave him credit for. In LeBlancs’s first season, his review of the Porsche 911 R was the first big clue he was cut out for Top Gear. He brings genuine passion, knowledge, insight, and most importantly, a sandwich:
We think it’s a genuine shame LeBlanc is leaving. While a lot of people complain current Top Gear not as good as the Clarkson, Hammond, and May years, it’s worth remembering that the first few seasons of The Holy Trinity’s reboot of the original Top Gear was pretty dire. It was clunky, hard to watch, and James May didn’t even join up until the second season. It wasn’t until season 5 that it became the show the world has come to know and love. Top Gear may never get the same mainstream appeal again but that’s fine with us. Under Clarkson, Hammond, and May it became an entertainingt show that happened to have cars in it. Instead, this iteration of Top Gear seems to be moving towards being a show about cars that is also entertaining. Hopefully, that trend continues.
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