Top Gear’s Chris Harris To Headline His Own Show On BBC America

Chris Harris is hands down my favorite new Top Gear presenter, but I am a bit biased. Personally, I’ve been following Chris Harris on YouTube for a few years now before he got his big break. His show Chris Harris On Cars is a fantastic series that any die hard auto enthusiast should watch. It’s so good not only for the fact that Harris is a superb driver, but the entertainment and production values are extremely high. For a YouTube series, it’s one of the best ones our there along with anything /Drive puts out.

So the BBC has decided that BBC America needs a full on injection of Harris. And that’s exactly what we’re going to get. Here’s the official statement from the BBC website.

Buckle up, Gearheads: Brand-new auto series Chris Harris on Cars is coming to BBC America on Monday, July 11 at 9/8c. Watch the trailer below for a look at the rubber-burning action to come!

Based on his hit YouTube series, BBC America’s Chris Harris on Cars offers Top Gear fans more time with breakout star and motoring journalist Chris Harris. Here he gets behind the wheel of the newest, fastest and coolest cars on the road, and takes viewers into the technical complexities of these stunning vehicles. Profiling some of the most exciting cars on the planet and testing them on road and track, the series will cover cars such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, McLaren 650S, Aston Martin GT12, Ferrari 458 GT, Ferrari 458 Spider, among many others.

n the latest season of Top Gear, Chris joined fellow hosts Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc, Sabine Schmitz, Eddie Jordan, Rory Reid and The Stig as they drove over 7500 miles, undertook both on and off road challenges, tested the very latest cars and filmed in nine countries across four continents.

Launched on YouTube in 2014, Chris Harris on Cars has amassed over a quarter of a million subscribers and the content has been viewed over 20 million times. Chris began his career in motoring journalism at UK-based Autocar magazine, becoming their official road-test editor. He launched his website dedicated to fast cars in 2008, later joined Evo magazine and then became a member of the Pistonheads.com team, as well as a regular feature contributor on YouTube’s DRIVE channel.

For a video teaser, click here. This isn’t to be confused with his other new show, The Drift, which will be a Topgear.com exclusive webseries. Harris is set to be a very busy man.

With the Top Gear ratings drop off across all BBC networks, Chris Evans leaving the show, Top Gear America being canceled, and The Grand Tour upcoming this call, I believe this is a smart decision by the BBC. They need to rectify the situation and more Harris is a good thing. Harris is an an excellent presenter, has internet presence, and boasts a large following (360,000+ subscribers on YouTube) that can be translated well to TV. There is also the chance that this helps boost Top Gear’s ratings after people start watching Harris’ new show and want to watch more of him.

Time will tell if this is a worth while venture, but my odds are on this being a success possibly even more so than the TG reboot. Well done Chris, well deserved. Can’t wait to watch.

(Source: BBC)