Many motoring enthusiasts may recall the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May from their days of hosting the BBC’s Top Gear show. They became immensely popular, not just for their personalities, but also their hijinx. After the BBC, they moved to Amazon and began producing The Grand Tour. Now in its fourth season, the show has run into a snag called the coronavirus.

The Fourth Season

Amazon released the first show of the fourth season, called Seamen, in December. The second is expected to become available any day. Additional episodes have been placed on hold. It seems they have not been filmed yet, and the Coronavirus is keeping the trio from putting some or all of them together.

Filming Paused

The extensive travel that Clarkson, Hammond, and May do for their episodes has made them hold off any further filming. Instead of moving forward, they are going to take a break to see what happens with the virus’s spread and its containment. It’s just an entertainment show after all.

Coronavirus

Indeed, the coronavirus is a valid health concern. The number of infected people across the globe have continued to climb. The most susceptible to it are the elderly. Clarkson (59), and May (57) are no spring chickens. But, Clarkson has had recent health concerns. Hammond (50), on the other hand, is a bit younger, although not by much.

Support Teams

Creating an episode is no small task either. Typically, large support teams follow the hosting trio with multiple cameras, audio equipment, GPS, and other gear. So, delaying the filming of the additional episodes also holds the support team at bay, keeping them from also being needlessly exposed or infected to the virus from travel to exotic locations.

The Grand Tour Future

The future of the Grand Tour show has recently been called into question. Clarkson, Hammond, and May have all begun taking other opportunities. Clarkson began hosting another show, Who Want To Be A Millionaire, and has recently started a show about his farming abilities called I Bought the Farm.

Hammond is currently involved with the show, Richard Hammond’s BIG. The title is ironic because, as the shortest of the three Grand Tour hosts, he often gets a good ribbing. James May has a show as well, named James May: Our Man in Japan. The trio’s ambitions to try their hands at other productions have left the future of the Grand Tour ambiguous.

Season four of the Grand Tour is a done deal, though. Filming may not be complete, but Amazon has already hired them and advertised the season. So, the actual filming and release dates are the only things lacking to finish off the season.

For now, the Clarkson, Hammond, and May will be content to stay away un-needed exposure to the potentially deadly virus that has been piercing through nations. Hundreds of countries have cases of the virus within their borders. It seems that until the virus has been handled to manageable levels, the trio will hold off on endangering themselves or their crew.