Netflix
"Top Gear" UK. "Top Gear" US. "The Grand Tour." Wouldn't it be nice to have a car show that isn't just three dudes comparing vehicles against each other? Are you as tired of the Three Guys In Cars format as I am? Well, today, we're talking about how to fix it. What automotive show would you like to see?
The setup is this: You've been made a showrunner at a network or streaming platform of your choice, and your only charge is to make the greatest automotive TV show on Earth. The format and cast are entirely up to you, and you've got a blank-check budget to work with — the only limit here is your imagination. Whatever runtime you'd like, whatever subject, so long as cars are the main focus. A big-budget narrative biopic about an automotive designer for HBO, an inside look at car plants for the Discovery Channel, 2 Sons 2 Anarchy for FX, what automotive show would you make?
Let me make Hyperdrive But Good
Back when I lived upstate, a show called "Hyperdrive" filmed in my city of Rochester, New York for Netflix. It had a genuinely interesting concept — a sort of automotive obstacle course that brought together racing and precision driving to try and make "American Ninja Warrior" For Cars — but it was brought down by its spectacle, its reality TV-style narratives, and the overall commitment to being big and loud. There's a great idea in there, though, and I'd like to see it done without quite so much budget allocated for neon and pyrotechnics. Bring together a variety of drivers with their variety of cars, and challenge them to do precision driving fastest.
My dream automotive show would be "Hyperdrive" but good. What would yours be? Give me your elevator pitch down in the comments below, and I'll select my favorites later this week. Bonus points for any kind of imagery that I'll be able to find on Getty Images for your slide, because I really haven't thought the visual aspect of this question through yet.