After his controversial exit in Top Gear, when he punched BBC producer Oisin Tymon, Jeremy Clarkson is now the front man for the Amazon car show and apparently has a hefty £160million budget allotted for 36 episodes of the show, within a three-year period.
Mirror reported that Amazon Prime has indeed given Jeremy Clarkson's team, including James May, Richard Hammond and producer Andy Wilman a budget of £4.5million per individual show. Compared to Top Gear's previous budget of £500,000 per show, which was increased later on to £1 million when presenter costs were added, it still is a far cry from what is currently offered by Amazon.
However, one executive speculated that a huge budget does not guarantee Amazon a good show that could out do what Top Gear has done.
"People are wondering if the programme will lose its charm," an executive told Mirror. "Having the three of them careering around in souped-up bangers was at the heart of what they did - giving them too much money could ruin all that."
Amidst the doubts and speculations surrounding the much-awaited release of Jeremy Clarkson's Amazon show, Clarkson teased fans before 2015 ended, when he posted a photo of him and the team alongside, what appears to be, three-wheeler Reliant Robins.
"Proof we are spending the money on the screen; not on company cars," Clarkson joked on Twitter.
Well, it seems like Jeremy Clarkson wants to emphasize that the Amazon budget is being spent wisely by their team.
This January, new updates were also reported by The Week, one being that the Amazon show, which remains unnamed, will come out some time in autumn.
Despite the long wait, Clarkson's high-budgeted show is purportedly miles ahead in filming compared to the revamped Top Gear featuring Chris Evans. Top Gear has been allegedly experiencing conflicts during the shoot, and Chris Evans has apparently almost left the show out of frustration to BBC's controlling ways.
According to Independent, BBC's too much interference has also been the issue during Jeremy Clarkson's time at Top Gear. And now the trio is happier to be given a free hand by Amazon when it comes to the show's treatment - not to mention the lavish budget.