Christopher Pillitz/BBCAmerica/BBCStudios Freddie Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness, and Chris Harris star in BBC America's "Top Gear."
Tonight marks the premiere of Top Gear‘s 27th season and its first time on American airwaves. Airing on BBC America, hosts Freddie Flinoff, Paddy McGuinness, and Chris Harris are back to discover the very best supercar alternatives to the traditional family estate car. The premiere begins at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
If you live in the United States and don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of BBC America on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming subscription services:
BBC America is one of 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Top Gear on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch new episodes up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
BBC America is included in Philo’s main 58-channel bundle, which is the cheapest among all streaming services if you plan on keeping it long-term.
You can start a free 7-day trial of Philo TV right here, and you can then watch Top Gear live on your computer via the Philo website, or on your phone (iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV or or other supported device via the Philo app.
If you can’t watch live, Philo also allows you to DVR programs and watch them up to 30 days later. And even if you forget to DVR something, Philo also comes with a 72-hour rewind feature, which allows you to replay any event that has aired in the last three days.
PlayStation Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages, all of which include BBC America.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Top Gear on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PlayStation Vue comes included with cloud DVR.
‘Top Gear’ Season 27 Preview
The world’s biggest car show is getting its U.S. premiere tonight when BBC America debuts Season 27 at 8 p.m. Featuring new hosts Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness, and returning host Chris Harris, the premiere episode sees the trio reliving their first car experiences in Ethiopia. Freddie, Paddy, and Chris are tasked with buying a model of their own first car and drive their purchases to the Danakil Depression, the hottest year-round place on Earth. Chris also takes to the track in the McLaren 600LT and Ferrari 488 Pista in order to determine which track-day supercar is the best.
Top Gear is a British series and a relaunched version of the original 1977 show of the same name. The series highlights various motor vehicles, but mostly focuses on cars. While the original show mostly covered car reviews, this newer series added motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a course specially-designed for the show. Its quirky, humorous tone is also a differentiating factor from its original incarnation, which featured a rather controversial style.
Since the relaunch, Top Gear became one of the BBC’s most commercially successful shows and has since experienced significant prominence in British pop culture. Episodes are now broadcast internationally in countries throughout Europe, North America, South-East Asia, and more, making it the most widely broadcast factual series in the world. As of 2012, it has aired in 212 different territories.
In addition to broadcast success, the series spawned various merchandising, including live tours, DVDs, and books, as well as a variety of international remakes and reboots in countries like the U.S., Australia, South Korea, China, and France.
Flintoff is a former Ashes-winning England cricketer and TV presenter. McGuinness is an entertainment host and comedian, while Harris is the returning motor journalist and race car driver. To date, there have been 12 presenters on the show including Sabine Schmitz, Matt LeBlanc (yes, that Matt LeBlanc), Chris Evans (no, not that Chris Evans), Rory Reid, and Eddie Jordan.