‘Top Gear America’ Wraps Production Ahead Of MotorTrend Launch

EXCLUSIVE: Top Gear’s latest American incarnation has safely wrapped production ahead of its debut on Discovery’s MotorTrend.

Deadline understands that the show, which is based on the long-running British format, finished filming its debut season at the end of August after shooting over the summer.

The show, which is produced by BBC Studios’ Los Angeles production division, managed this by driving off with a slew of COVID-friendly protocols.

It comes as the show was originally intended to air in the spring, having been unveiled by Discovery’s motoring streamer at the end of last year.

The show filmed primarily in remote areas in the western half of the country, and to avoid potential travel exposure from commercial flights, the series only filmed at locations that were drivable by car from Southern California.

Personnel, including hosts Dax Shepard, Rob Corddry and Jethro Bovingdon, wore face masks when not on camera and practiced social distancing while the number of crew going in and out of the vehicles was limited to essential personnel only. These vehicles were disinfected and cleaned between use.

Top Gear America is the BBC Studios format’s latest ride in the U.S. The show was originally piloted at networks including Discovery and NBC before airing on History for six seasons. BBC America also aired a version, fronted by William Fichtner, Tom Ford and Antron Brown, in 2017.

Craig Armstrong is showrunner of Top Gear America, while Travis Shakespeare is executive producer for BBC Studios and Levi Rugg is executive producer for MotorTrend.

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