Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again

RahulNagaraj · 15th July 2024, 12:37

According to media reports, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are dissolving their joint production house, 'W Chumps & Sons'.

The iconic trio signed off on the dissolution of their company after filming the final Grand Tour series, scheduled to arrive later this year. The reports also mention that the company filed three documents declaring solvency, while also appointing a voluntary liquidator and making a special resolution to wind up.

Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again-grandtour.jpg

The dissolution of the company also indicates the end of the TV partnership between the iconic trio after working together for nearly 22 years.

The end of the partnership has been hinted at before by Richard Hammond in a breakfast show where he mentioned, "Above all else, we wanted to land this thing at a time, in a place, and in a manner of our choosing. That was absolutely key to us."

Clarkson and Hammond met on the first season of BBC's Top Gear show, with May joining them later for the second season. The trio worked on the BBC show till 2015 when Clarkson was fired for a behind-the-scenes issue, while his co-hosts resigned shortly after. The trio then started The Grand Tour, which became one of the biggest shows on Amazon Prime Video.

The trio has just wrapped filming the final series of the Grand Tour in Zimbabwe, to be released later this year.

Source: Metro.co.uk

Link to Team-BHP news

Raskolnikov.R · 15th July 2024, 13:29

I signed up for Amazon Prime, not for the two-day deliveries but for being able to watch the trio!

They regaled us!

I'm glad they're signing off on their own accord and terms!

Godspeed, Hammond, May, and Clarkson!

locusjag · 15th July 2024, 13:54

Me too! I'd only ever signed up for Amazon Prime because of the holy trinity of the automotive world.

But, as weird as it feels for me to say it, it's time they ended it.

I've watched each one of their BBC episodes (it was 20 seasons in all on BBC, if I remember right), I signed up eagerly to Prime in 2017 when they moved to Amazon and watched every GT episode till date. Hell, I even evangelized my nephew and niece and made them fans of the trio; we had a blast listening to their voiceovers in the first Xbox one Forza game.

As Clarkson himself put it, they've been everywhere and done everything. What more can they do? From driving to a Pole, driving to the top of a snow-capped mountain l, sending a fuel truck down a scary sand dune, driving across a desolate desert (multiple times, different deserts), trying to kill a Toyota, catapulting cars, racing against an Eurofighter, transporting a marine assault team on a Ford Focus off of a landing craft onto a beach, indulging in the utmost levels of sarcasm and snark...

Clarkson can till his farm, May can go on being a foodie and Hammond can continue with his impish grinning. They've given us their all. They've earned it.

Mr.Fawlty · 15th July 2024, 13:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

...The dissolution of the company also indicates the end of the TV partnership between the iconic trio after working together for nearly 22 years...

This was inevitable: they aren't growing younger. But, this brings a profound sadness - the final end to a glorious era. Nothing can beat the old/original TG - those special episodes, the quirky challenges, the inane banter, the on-screen chemistry. How countless many of us have fantasized about being in their shoes - travelling around the world driving those beauties, and having each other for company. It's sad so many from the future/current generations wouldn't be able to relate with the 'spirit' of TG/GT, or immediately recognize the glorious opening theme - which I've had as my phone ringtone and been asked about more times rather than the knowing grin I often expected from otherwise knowledgeable gentlefolks known to be TV/film and/or automobile aficionados.

Quote:

And on that bombshell, it's time to end...

ergon_9700 · 15th July 2024, 15:00

It was inevitable. But still gutted. Well they deserve their rest and focus on their personal ventures. Going to miss the "Clarkson!" scream by May, "Hammond!" scream by Clarkson and Hammond well being Hammond. Gags, laughs memories are a plenty with the trio.

Thank you chaps for the memories. The End of an Era is here.

ArvindMaveric · 15th July 2024, 16:42

Have watched each and every episode of TG when these chaps were on and then watched and rewatched multiple times all the episodes of The Grand Tour. There's no show that can compare to the ones these guys put up. They will be dearly missed!

Kickdown · 15th July 2024, 17:06

Alas, all good things come to an end.

Top Gear was one of my favorite shows. Loved binge watching it, especially the episodes where they would travel to different parts of the world with their self selected cars and the mods after that. That show was never the same once this trio left. Much like MasterChef Australia when Gary George and Matt left. Never felt that connect again.

The Grand Tour was nice but looked more staged to me. They tried to act funny rather that be funny naturally. TG was on a different level.

Biraj · 15th July 2024, 18:20

I would pay to listen to or watch a podcast by the trio. Something along the lines of conversation street. I love their brand of humour and quirky takes on the most regular or mundane of things/tasks.

They have been a refuge every time I have felt low and needed some good quality humour, whether post recovery from surgery or Covid-19.

Sharing one of my favourite moments from the Grand Tour. Cheers to them!

https://youtu.be/_VMFsAKHzHM?si=hodykppFNgiz0vcj

blogslogger · 15th July 2024, 19:10

A bit OT. But Hammond is the only one who is still associated with cars. His YT channel Drivetribe and his Discovery Show- Smallest Cog.

For those who haven't watched the Smallest Cog yet, do give it a go. It shows the non-impatient attitude of Hammond and how attached he is to his cars and bikes.

Pontiac · 15th July 2024, 22:03

I am not ready to lose these guys yet. Can’t get enough of them. There is something with their presentation and point of view that just syncs. I hope they create more content, maybe not as a trio, but each to their own.

that_sedate_guy · 15th July 2024, 22:25

Learn superb British English: Check
Learn mad original British humour: Check
Learn way too much about cars, even technical stuff: Check
Have wild amounts of fun doing all the above: Check
Convince neighbours that I have manic night-laughter syndrome: Check
Their special episodes are my binge content of choice. Even now when I drive somewhere alone, I find myself talking to no one in particular, describing the road, the car and the scenery in Clarkson's voice!
Approach a signal and I yell out "Noooo"
I approach a traffic jam, "Right. How hard can it be?"
Climbing the ramp in my garage, "Speeeed and power!"

In all seriousness though, these three weren't entertaining people. They nurtured the enthusiasts in people. God bless them!

Thad E Ginathom · 16th July 2024, 03:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Fawlty

the glorious opening theme - which I've had as my phone ringtone and been asked about more times

Are you aware of the origins of that glorious theme? I'm sure many think that it was written for Top Gear. Arranged for Top Gear, yes, but originally this glorious rock instrumental...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRDivUb5EeA

For those who do not know, they should. It's a piece of motor-programming history and a piece of rock history. And I once saw them playing it at a festival in GB: circa 1973ish

libranof1987 · 16th July 2024, 09:15

Is this the final, final end then? We went from Top Gear to only Top Gear Specials to The Grand Tour to only The Grand Tour specials.

As much a fan as I have been of the series, their format, and these three clowns, I think it's time they called time on the concept. They been there, they've done it all. The Specials are worth watching, for legacy sake, and can't hold a candle to their heydays. Naturally, so.

Thanks, gents.

pd1108 · 16th July 2024, 10:31

They were great earlier. Off late, their jokes were repetitive, the storyline was predictable and the presentation had stopped evolving. They are dissolving at the right time, maybe a little late. People should be asking why and not what it is now - why not

AKSarkar1 · 16th July 2024, 10:43

This truly makes me sad, although it is a part and parcel of life (people retire and move on). I think somewhere we all saw this coming when they decided to stop doing the live grand tour with the moving studio concept shifting solely to the specials. Not too sure about how these specials of theirs have been doing commercially, it would be very interesting if someone has information about that!

For me, my earliest automotive memories are of these guys, truly a dream team that can’t be replaced. Even today, on bad days I like to tune in and watch old episodes of Top Gear which instantly improves my mood.

What makes me even more surprised about the success of Top Gear is that these guys found their ways into hearts of people not just in the western and also people who probably lived in a 3rd world developing country and didn’t have money to even buy a bike, and I think that is the biggest testament to the success of this show.

While there certainly won’t be a trio exactly like them again, I certainly hope that future generation petrolheads get a similar holy trinity of automotive presenters who they get to call their own!

15th July 2024, 12:37	#1
RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,289 Thanked: 21,956 Times	Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again According to media reports, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are dissolving their joint production house, 'W Chumps & Sons'. The iconic trio signed off on the dissolution of their company after filming the final Grand Tour series, scheduled to arrive later this year. The reports also mention that the company filed three documents declaring solvency, while also appointing a voluntary liquidator and making a special resolution to wind up. The dissolution of the company also indicates the end of the TV partnership between the iconic trio after working together for nearly 22 years. The end of the partnership has been hinted at before by Richard Hammond in a breakfast show where he mentioned, "Above all else, we wanted to land this thing at a time, in a place, and in a manner of our choosing. That was absolutely key to us." Clarkson and Hammond met on the first season of BBC's Top Gear show, with May joining them later for the second season. The trio worked on the BBC show till 2015 when Clarkson was fired for a behind-the-scenes issue, while his co-hosts resigned shortly after. The trio then started The Grand Tour, which became one of the biggest shows on Amazon Prime Video. The trio has just wrapped filming the final series of the Grand Tour in Zimbabwe, to be released later this year. Source: Metro.co.uk Link to Team-BHP news
	(22) Thanks

15th July 2024, 13:29	#2
Raskolnikov.R BHPian Join Date: Oct 2023 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 91 Thanked: 289 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again I signed up for Amazon Prime, not for the two-day deliveries but for being able to watch the trio! They regaled us! I'm glad they're signing off on their own accord and terms! Godspeed, Hammond, May, and Clarkson!
	(8) Thanks

15th July 2024, 13:54	#3
locusjag Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,824 Thanked: 8,508 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again Me too! I'd only ever signed up for Amazon Prime because of the holy trinity of the automotive world. But, as weird as it feels for me to say it, it's time they ended it. I've watched each one of their BBC episodes (it was 20 seasons in all on BBC, if I remember right), I signed up eagerly to Prime in 2017 when they moved to Amazon and watched every GT episode till date. Hell, I even evangelized my nephew and niece and made them fans of the trio; we had a blast listening to their voiceovers in the first Xbox one Forza game. As Clarkson himself put it, they've been everywhere and done everything. What more can they do? From driving to a Pole, driving to the top of a snow-capped mountain l, sending a fuel truck down a scary sand dune, driving across a desolate desert (multiple times, different deserts), trying to kill a Toyota, catapulting cars, racing against an Eurofighter, transporting a marine assault team on a Ford Focus off of a landing craft onto a beach, indulging in the utmost levels of sarcasm and snark... Clarkson can till his farm, May can go on being a foodie and Hammond can continue with his impish grinning. They've given us their all. They've earned it.
	(19) Thanks

15th July 2024, 15:00	#5
ergon_9700 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 108 Thanked: 273 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again It was inevitable. But still gutted. Well they deserve their rest and focus on their personal ventures. Going to miss the "Clarkson!" scream by May, "Hammond!" scream by Clarkson and Hammond well being Hammond. Gags, laughs memories are a plenty with the trio. Thank you chaps for the memories. The End of an Era is here.
	(3) Thanks

15th July 2024, 16:42	#6
ArvindMaveric Newbie Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 22 Thanked: 36 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again Have watched each and every episode of TG when these chaps were on and then watched and rewatched multiple times all the episodes of The Grand Tour. There's no show that can compare to the ones these guys put up. They will be dearly missed!
	(2) Thanks

15th July 2024, 17:06	#7
Kickdown BHPian Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: GA/MH/KA Posts: 55 Thanked: 136 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again Alas, all good things come to an end. Top Gear was one of my favorite shows. Loved binge watching it, especially the episodes where they would travel to different parts of the world with their self selected cars and the mods after that. That show was never the same once this trio left. Much like MasterChef Australia when Gary George and Matt left. Never felt that connect again. The Grand Tour was nice but looked more staged to me. They tried to act funny rather that be funny naturally. TG was on a different level.
	(1) Thanks

15th July 2024, 19:10	#9
blogslogger BHPian Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 101 Thanked: 191 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again A bit OT. But Hammond is the only one who is still associated with cars. His YT channel Drivetribe and his Discovery Show- Smallest Cog. For those who haven't watched the Smallest Cog yet, do give it a go. It shows the non-impatient attitude of Hammond and how attached he is to his cars and bikes.
	(2) Thanks

15th July 2024, 22:03	#10
Pontiac BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 92 Thanked: 133 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again I am not ready to lose these guys yet. Can’t get enough of them. There is something with their presentation and point of view that just syncs. I hope they create more content, maybe not as a trio, but each to their own.
	() Thanks

15th July 2024, 22:25	#11
that_sedate_guy BHPian Join Date: Dec 2023 Location: Hosur Posts: 57 Thanked: 640 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again Learn superb British English: Check Learn mad original British humour: Check Learn way too much about cars, even technical stuff: Check Have wild amounts of fun doing all the above: Check Convince neighbours that I have manic night-laughter syndrome: Check Their special episodes are my binge content of choice. Even now when I drive somewhere alone, I find myself talking to no one in particular, describing the road, the car and the scenery in Clarkson's voice! Approach a signal and I yell out "Noooo" I approach a traffic jam, "Right. How hard can it be?" Climbing the ramp in my garage, "Speeeed and power!" In all seriousness though, these three weren't entertaining people. They nurtured the enthusiasts in people. God bless them!
	(4) Thanks

16th July 2024, 09:15	#13
libranof1987 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: All over! Posts: 7,747 Thanked: 19,140 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again Is this the final, final end then? We went from Top Gear to only Top Gear Specials to The Grand Tour to only The Grand Tour specials. As much a fan as I have been of the series, their format, and these three clowns, I think it's time they called time on the concept. They been there, they've done it all. The Specials are worth watching, for legacy sake, and can't hold a candle to their heydays. Naturally, so. Thanks, gents.
	() Thanks

16th July 2024, 10:31	#14
pd1108 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 113 Thanked: 280 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again They were great earlier. Off late, their jokes were repetitive, the storyline was predictable and the presentation had stopped evolving. They are dissolving at the right time, maybe a little late. People should be asking why and not what it is now - why not
	() Thanks

16th July 2024, 10:43	#15
AKSarkar1 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Mumbai Posts: 498 Thanked: 1,241 Times	Re: Clarkson, Hammond & May dissolve their production house; Unlikely to work together again This truly makes me sad, although it is a part and parcel of life (people retire and move on). I think somewhere we all saw this coming when they decided to stop doing the live grand tour with the moving studio concept shifting solely to the specials. Not too sure about how these specials of theirs have been doing commercially, it would be very interesting if someone has information about that! For me, my earliest automotive memories are of these guys, truly a dream team that can’t be replaced. Even today, on bad days I like to tune in and watch old episodes of Top Gear which instantly improves my mood. What makes me even more surprised about the success of Top Gear is that these guys found their ways into hearts of people not just in the western and also people who probably lived in a 3rd world developing country and didn’t have money to even buy a bike, and I think that is the biggest testament to the success of this show. While there certainly won’t be a trio exactly like them again, I certainly hope that future generation petrolheads get a similar holy trinity of automotive presenters who they get to call their own!
	() Thanks