Skip to main content
The VergeThe Verge logo.The Verge homepage
The VergeThe Verge logo.

Top Gear USA canceled 'for the immediate future'

Top Gear USA canceled 'for the immediate future'

/

The last episode will air on Tuesday

By James Vincent, a senior reporter who has covered AI, robotics, and more for eight years at The Verge.

Via Road And Track | Source Rutledge Wood

|

Share this story

Rutledge Wood, one of the three co-hosts of the History Channel's Top Gear USA, has announced that the show has been canceled. In a Facebook post, Wood told fans that Tuesday night's episode is "the last we have shot for you." He added: "I'm not saying Top Gear on [the History Channel] is done, but it's done for the immediate future."

Top Gear Usa was never going to be an easy ride

It's not clear exactly why the show was canceled, but Top Gear USA never managed to gather the same momentum as the BBC original. Hosts Wood, Tanner Foust, and Adam Ferrara took a little bit to find their rhythm, and while some viewers criticized the show for cleaving to close to the original, others claimed it strayed too far away. Without the presence of Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, it was always going to be a bumpy ride.

I'm very sad to say, but Tuesday night's #TopGear on @History is the last TG US that we have shot for you. I'm not saying Top Gear USA is done, but it's done for the immediate future on @History . I remember the day that I got the phone call to ask if I'd be interested in talking to one of the producers about possibly being one of the hosts of the US's version of the world's most iconic car show. It's been an amazing ride for sure, and although I don't think the show is done, it appears that it's done with our friends at History, and we're incredibly grateful for being a part of the A&E Networks family. I have had so much fun with Tanner and Adam, they really are like brothers to me. We've traveled this amazing country and to some of the coolest places on earth together, and even in the hardest moments, it's been a total dream come true. The three of us will stick together and hope to bring you much more Top Gear USA, albeit it somewhere else it appears. To the FANS- we cannot say enough how much we truly appreciate each and every one of you. You have always been there for us in great numbers, and we really do love you all. You are the reason shows like ours exist, and you're also the reason we've been so lucky to do this show for so long together. We never dreamed how many families would sit and watch our show and laugh together. We never knew how many couples would sit and watch three goofballs go out and try to make each other laugh. And yet, you all watched...and you told other people and shared in the joy. To everyone who worked on TGUS- thank you. For everything. You're our family and you're the reason we got to do this for so many years together. So here's a toast to all of you out there. I hope you'll watch Tuesday night and enjoy the last show we made for you. We took a trip of a lifetime down to Cuba and drove classic American cars from the 50's down there, and I can tell you it's one of the coolest things we have ever done together. Cheers and lots of love, Rutledge

A photo posted by @rutledgewood on

The BBC, of course, has had its own troubles with the original show after Clarkson made an "unprovoked physical and verbal attack" on a member of the production team and was fired. The British trio will be returning in a new series, The Grand Tour, which is set to arrive on Amazon Video around September this year.

Meanwhile, Top Gear USA's wood is leaving with only love for fans of the American show. "So here's a toast to all of you out there," he wrote on Facebook. "I hope you'll watch Tuesday night and enjoy the last show we made for you. We took a trip of a lifetime down to Cuba and drove classic American cars from the 50's down there, and I can tell you it's one of the coolest things we have ever done together. Cheers and lots of love, Rutledge."

More from Entertainment