I didn't hate the first episode of the "new era", but I didn't fall in love with it either. I liked LeBlanc more than I expected, and I think that he'll get better as the show goes on. Despite being American, his deliberate dryness will work in the UK I think.
To offset that, however, Chris Evans was more annoying than I expected. I get that they are trying to play off of the flamboyant, loud Brit and the dry, cocky yank. Maybe they'll find their groove as it goes on.
I can't blame the BBC for trying to keep their flagship programme alive, but I do think that it will be in trouble. Viewership was apparently the lowest in a decade for an opener, and it really needed to be a slam dunk in order to draw people in. If you don't compare it to the Clarkson, Hammond, & May era, it really isn't too bad of a show. But those three were the magic ingredient, obviously, so this was always going to be a tough sell. I'll tune in from time to time, but it'll take some work to really pull me in.
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