Top Gear returns for its 30th season on BBC America April 25, and its racing right back into action without any stop signs ahead. The trio of popular hosts - Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff - have seen the iconic series rise to new heights and a wider audience thanks to their chemistry and the producers' innovative challenges.
The men hop into some "dad cars" for the premiere, reminiscing about their fathers and getting in touch with their emotions, but there are also plenty of Ferraris and hilarious racing segments in store. Despite the pandemic limiting their travel and interactions, the creators and hosts alike have found ways to keep their target audience entertained.
Harris, McGuinness and Flintoff spoke to Screen Rant and several other outlets at a recent press day, describing what was surprising about the latest season, explaining which they considered the "ultimate dad cars," and revealing how they'd like to celebrate their fifth series together.
Last season showcased how you can provide quality entertainment in the midst of a pandemic. What new ways have you been stretched creatively this season?
Paddy McGuinness: Well, it's been a little bit easier for us, as opposed to other people making TV shows, because for a lot of stuff we do we're in the car on our own with a little GoPro camera. We had to stay in a bubble together as well.
Apart from we've not traveled about as much, kind of filming in the UK, it's been sort of easier really. You feel fortunate that you can get out and work when everybody else is on, and we've got a chance to spend time with each other, drive cars, have some fun. You have a newfound appreciation of what you're doing.
Chris Harris: I think the producers had to come up with a couple of novel treatments to take us out of our comfort zone; you'll see those. One of them involves being towed behind the car, wearing a pair of titanium-soled boots at speeds that we never ever want to achieve again.
But other than that, really just trying to make the hub of the show the Cars. We've got a great spread of cars, from the new Defender to Ferrari Roma; we've got Fred in a bonkers electric Rally Car, and a beautiful old Alfa Romeo that's been reimagined. We've got a great spread of cars, and us lot having fun.
That's the core of the show, and actually, we're amazed at how much of that you can do still in the middle of a pandemic. So, we've been very, very lucky.
The Dad Cars episode was really wonderful to watch. What was it like to film?
Paddy McGuinness: It was lovely. We do a lot of mad stuff on Top Gear, and we're always having fun, so it was nice to rein that little bit back in a bit and be a bit honest with each other and talk about stuff and show a little bit of emotion. It'll be interesting to see how the viewers respond to something like that.
It was kind of honest. What you see is what you got with us, really. Yeah, it was a really nice episode, that one.
Freddie Flintoff: It was amazing getting into them cars and sitting there, looking around at the dashboard and all the dials, and all of a sudden everything starts flooding back from your childhood. I was [in] the car; I used to play cricket and my dad used to drive me up and down the country, and everything started flooding back. Then you flip it on its head: I'm driving and I'm a dad now, so I'm questioning myself as a dad and trying out, "Am I doing the right thing?"
So, it was emotional. And then, obviously, we lower the tone by sticking my ass in Paddy's face. There's a bit of everything there.
Chris Harris: Top Gear has been and is many things, but films like that make you realize it's actually a very simple product. It's about how human beings interact with motorcars, and why this weird mechanical object somehow elicits such emotional responses from human beings. Why we have opinions and why they cause arguments and, on that level, the memories that we have in them.
It was a very clever treatment from the producers, and not one that I was automatically comfortable with. But when you're they're presented with this thing that makes you remember such pungent memories, you can't really avoid it.
What would you consider the ultimate Dad Car, aside from the ones you drove in the episode or that brought back memories of your father's cars?
Paddy McGuinness: It'll be different because you're in the States, so you'll have a different view. You might be able to pull out some American cars that you think are dads cars.
Chris Harris: I think a Dad's car in the States would have to be something like a Mustang, because I just think it's the kind of car that you wish your dad had driven if he didn't drive one. And it's got some back seats, so you can actually go in there as a little person.
I know this is a difficult [ranking], but it's affordable. You can imagine a lot of people being able to afford a Mustang, because it can't be something that's too expensive and fancy pants. So, I'd go for that, really. I certainly wouldn't go minivan, F150, a truck or something. You could argue that, but for me, I'd like to think it was 'stang.
Freddie Flintoff: We've got four kids, we need a lot of seats. But on Chris' theme, I've bought these Camaros quite often. My kids love that, because in England it's completely different to anything else that you see on the roads. They don't have them out in the country, these left-hand drives, so it's a bit of an adventure for the kids. It's something a bit different. Just to get them all in at the same time, that's the other thing.
You moved to BBC One, the ratings have increased, and people really responded to your chemistry. What is it that you think works so well between the three of you?
Paddy McGuinness: I think we don't act when we're on. We are who we are, and it's a natural sort of chemistry we have around each other. Our personalities are different but, then again, they're very similar. I think viewers like it when they know you're being yourself, and we definitely are. If we lose a race, we hate it; if we win, we really go over the top with our celebrations. And we have a good time together.
We're talking about, hopefully - once this pandemic gets a bit more under control and we can travel again - coming over to the States and maybe doing a big road trip there as well. So, that'll be quite interesting. It's all exciting things ahead. But, yeah, I think we're just ourselves.
Freddie Flintoff: I think as well, the more time we spend together, the more you know each other. I think we are improving. The three of us, but also the producers, the crew and everyone has an understanding of what makes people tick; what people don't like; where to niggle people when you need to. I think we're going in the right direction. We can still improve obviously, but we're getting there.
What are you most proud of in Season 30?
Paddy McGuinness: Surviving it. Coming out alive; that was some achievement with the things they've had us doing.
Chris Harris: We were very lucky to be given the chance to get some cars from James Bond movies together, and that's not often done. To go onto the internet and find film or pictures of a load of old famous Bond cars in one place? You won't, because the fil productions very rarely allow that. But they did this time, so we got the chance to open a hangar that we've had filled with significant Bond cars. That was a great moment.
We also got to drive some as well. That's one that, when it comes to negotiating your paycheck, you actually in the back of your mind are thinking, "I'd pay to do that. I don't need to be paid to do that." It's one of those.
Freddie Flintoff: I think for me, it's hard to get past the dad cars. It's a change of pace, and it's also an opportunity to talk up your dad. He's the center of it, and you're driving the car he drove. I think when you watch that, as I say, it's a change of pace from a lot of stuff we do.
Hopefully fans will like that. I enjoyed watching that and listening to Paddy and Chris' reactions. Because, as Paddy said before, we don't see what each other are doing on board in the car. It was obviously Paddy and Chris talking about their dads, but they're not necessarily conversations that we'd have.
Do you watch the episodes with your families? What do they think?
Paddy McGuinness: I don't, actually. I don't watch it with my family, weirdly enough.
Chris Harris: It's tricky, that. My youngest boy is 10, and I'll sometimes watch it with him. But the others... There's a terrible self-consciousness about television, where you can't stand the sound of your own voice.
You've been through the process. You're not watching it afresh; you've seen the edit, you've done the voiceover for the film. So actually, you're familiar with most of the film. It sounds awful, but I'm very proud of what we do, and I'll watch their films. I'll watch their individual films, but I won't watch mine. When it's on, I would rather be anywhere than in front of a television. That's not because I'm not proud of it, it's just because I think so many people that make television or present it feel the same way. I'd rather go and kick a wall; I just cringe whenever I see myself and television,
Freddie Flintoff: My father'll watch it. Unlike Chris, I don't watch it with him. I hear the music come on, and they're all sat there. I'm a bit of a hoverer; I just hover about, popping my head around the door, and seeing if they're enjoying it.
And then I think my kids as well; they just expect me to embarrass myself as well. They're at an age now, where [everyone's] watching at their school and people are talking about it.
There hasn't been very much opportunity to drive with the pandemic. A lot of people haven't been in cars very much, and there's been a big detachment from the way that we think of them. Top Gear's always been a big, frivolous, masculine, outrageous thing - but was there an urge to make the cars more relatable to people, and to bring that emotive element back in different ways?
Chris Harris: Naturally, we've had less scope to go out and do that hyperbolic stuff. Top Gear always has to be a little bit of a cartoon, I think. If it isn't a cartoon, it just becomes a very cold and antiseptic review show, and everyone's realized that's not what mainstream television want. Because it would get about half a million viewers and would be off the air fairly quickly.
The masculine side of it, I don't necessarily see that. I think at the moment, it's just presented as, "If you like machinery, you like machinery." I think the "Dad's Cars" film was a good demonstration of the fact that we're exploring people's relationship with motor cars, as opposed to just going out and going too nuts.
But yes, to add to your point, there is a crazy Lamborghini that's got too much power that is unaffordable. It's a very difficult balance, really. Top Gear should be a good balance of silliness and relatable content, and in the last year the motorcar has not continued its role in our lives that it once had. I suppose we've had to slightly move with that, although being out and about when everyone else wasn't driving was tricky - because at times I think we felt guilty that we had that freedom.
But what were we supposed to do? We're not just going to go sit at home and do nothing either. Hopefully, we're providing a product that people can sit and watch and enjoy. It's a bit of a soup of emotions. Hopefully, we've trodden the right path, and I think the "Dad's Car" film first up will make people go, "We haven't seen that before."
Next year is going to be your fifth series as a trio. Is there something that you would love to do to celebrate?
Paddy McGuinness: I'd like to do more stuff on me own. [Laughs] I'll just go on a little road trip; on my own in the car. I'll be happy with that.
I don't know. I think I always like it, and it's been tricky doing it at the moment with a pandemic. But I like doing stuff when the three of us are in the same vehicle together. Because when you're talking to each other on a radio, it's okay, but you miss the little nuances. When we're in the car together, I feel as though they get more out of us.
So, going forward - like we've said about maybe a trip across the States - it'd be great to do that in a big RV or something. And I think it will be quite a funny episode as well. That's what I'd like to do; something where the three of us are in the same vehicle.
Freddie Flintoff: I love the sound of that. I'd like to do a big, unplanned adventure and just see what happens. It's been God knows how long, and I'd love to be with these two going across America. To me, that'd be brilliant if and when we can start traveling again.
Chris Harris: I agree with those two and America. I think an RV, a really shonky old Winnebago for the 70s - one of those really upright ones. Pile us into that, give us a tetanus jab so we don't catch anything off upholstery, and then just send us off to experience silly American [things].
On World of Outlaws, those speedboats that do that thing - all that stuff would be brilliant. One of us will die, but it'll be worth it for the greater good.
Paddy McGuinness: Graceland, all that stuff. But I'd love to go to Alaska. I want go to Alaska, I just look at the map... Look at the size of it! It's just massive; there must be adventures to be had in Alaska.
Since you mentioned Alaska, is there any place that you would love to take the camper van across states?
Paddy McGuinness: I'm a real movie buff, so a lot of America I see from films I've loved over the years. I'd really like to see San Francisco, just because I've seen the Golden Gate Bridge on tons of Alcatraz TV shows and films. I'd love to kind of drive over that and see that place, all the windy roads. I just love all that, but that's just me.
Freddie Flintoff: I'd like to do America, but follow a music group. So you've got Graceland, you go see Sinatra stuff. Just follow the greats of music and all that.
Chris Harris: I'd do what he'd do; I'd just be going north over the Golden Gate Bridge, and I'd just go straight to Napa, and basically just stay there and drink wine.
Was there anything this series that really surprised you when you went in? Anything unscripted that brought new depths, or conversations that made you see things in a brand new light?
Paddy McGuinness: Watching it back, it was seeing the loves reactions on the road, talking to the camera. It was quite nice to see that; even though we all have different experiences with our dads, it's all the same thing essentially. We have very similar memories, so it was just nice seeing all that. It was quite surprising.
Chris Harris: We've also done a film about what we call Midlife Crisis Cars. We've taken the idea of the midlife crisis - which clearly, the three of us and the way we're dressed, we're right in the middle of one anyway - and we've turned it into a midlife opportunity.
Rather than being ashamed of what you might want to do when you're in your mid- to late 40s, and have better resources than perhaps when you were in you 20s, we've said, "Embrace it. Celebrate it." That's quite a fun film, saying, "Don't be ashamed of it." I think there's been quite a few people that watch Top Gear that might be accused of being in a bit of a midlife crisis by their loved ones. We're like a comfort blanket to them. Come and be a part of our club; we know how you feel.
Freddie Flintoff: We're all in lycra in that episode. So, if you've got an HDTV, turn it off. You'll save yourself a lot of a lot of misery.
Top Gear premieres its 30th season on Sunday, April 25 at 8pm ET/7c on BBC AMERICA and AMC+.