History Channel Cancels Top Gear USA

Top Gear USA has been cancelled “for the immediate future” prompting the BBC to seek a new TV deal.

The show is a spin-off of the BBC2 motoring show and uses similar gimmicks such as a Stig-like character and fast laps, and is not the version starring Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans.

Co-presenter Rutlege Wood, who described working on the show as a “total dream come true”, revealed on Facebook that the History Channel had cancelled the show.

“I’m not saying Top Gear is done, but it’s done for the immediate future on History,” he wrote in a post.

Top Gear USA, which has been running since 2011, has run for a total of six seasons comprising 72 episodes.

BBC Worldwide North America said that it remains “fully committed” to the show.

“We are fully committed to the hugely successful Top Gear brand and have begun exploring new opportunities for the series in the US,” said a spokesman.

Wood described his co-hosts, comedian Adam Ferrara and racing driver Tanner Foust, as “like brothers to me” and said he hoped the team would remain together and be picked up by another network.

“The three of us will stick together and hope to bring you much more Top Gear USA, albeit somewhere else,” he said.