No, this isn’t an April Fools joke two months too early. Matt LeBlanc, a man we all grew to love as Joey Tribbiani in the hit sitcom Friends, is joining Top Gear as one of its co-hosts. How’s that for a total surprise? LeBlanc is the second host announced by the BBC for the revamped show after the departures of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. The American actor joins Chris Evans and together will make up two-thirds of the show’s host. A third host, rumored to either be Chris Harris or Sabine Schmitz, will be announced at a later date. Interestingly enough, former Formula One driver David Coulthard has also been linked to the show, opening up the possibility that the revamped Top Gear will have four hosts in its new iteration.
LeBlanc’s inclusion to the show is a bit surprising considering that nobody really saw this hire coming. Then again, the 48-year old actor does have a history with the show, having held the title of "fastest star in a reasonably priced car” during the era of Clarkson, May, and Hammond. He also presented “Top Gear: The Races,” a seven-episode standalone spin-off that featured some of the most memorable races from the series’ first 22 seasons.
So, it’s not like LeBlanc isn’t going to be in his element. On the contrary, there is some genius behind the move since the BBC really needed a recognizable name to be part of the revamped show. All due respect to Chris Evans, but when people hear his name, they think of Captain America, not the British presenter. Having LeBlanc on the show would give Top Gear a name that viewers will immediately recognize. It also helps that LeBlanc is universally regarded as a genuine gear head with a tremendous amount of knowledge of the auto industry.
The rebooted version of Top Gear will make its debut on May 8, 2016 with the entire season comprised of 16 episodes.
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