The Grand Tour; Taskmaster; Chad Powers

“It’s perfectly fine, featuring Jensen Button and some lovely scenery (although I always find an hour too long with these kind of shows). There is a huge stunt in which they race their cars against three jets, which looks spectacular and was probably quite dangerous (Clarkson, May and Hammond have apparently done a similar thing in the past). It’s hard to see them enduring anywhere near as long as Clarkson et al, and veteran purists may not be keen on the new incumbents. But deciding not to hire mainstream TV celebrities and instead choosing younger internet stars who are genuine car obsessives was a shrewd move. It refreshes and youthifies the show and stops it looking like a thin retread of the old one.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The returned Grand Tour feels deliberately low stakes, as if all involved have realised that the best way to grow an audience is to simply let the show develop at its own pace. At some point – maybe in a few episodes, or maybe a couple of years from now – a rhythm will kick in, and the hosts will be familiar enough with each other to allow for a natural rapport to build. Still, there are signs of hope. During a visit to an expensive private racetrack, there is a moment where the hosts joke about what it must be like to be billionaires. At this point [Thomas] Holland gleefully stage-whispers “I don’t pay my taxes”, which, given that this is an Amazon show, seems almost revolutionarily provocative. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is a hint that we’ll see a bit of the old hand-biting that gave Top Gear such frisson.”
Stuart Heritage, The Guardian

“The trio’s chemistry develops across the six episodes but lacks spark and spontaneity. Perhaps understandably for a debut run, they’re a tad too enthusiastic, too giggly, too insistent that everything is enormous fun. A dash of world-weary, Top Gear-style cynicism would vary the tone, as would the odd wind-up. These three are terribly nice to each other. Admirable in real life. Less enjoyable on-screen. It might sound like a strange complaint, but they’re also overly car-fixated, endlessly reeling off stats about cylinders and speeds. Sure, the originals were motoring journalists who knew their stuff, but they wore it lightly. The Grand Tour was first an entertainment show that just happened to be about cars. The new incumbents need to take off the handbrake, relax and let their characters shine through. Clarkson and co are an impossible act to follow, but their spiritual sons give it a good go and will only get better as they grow into their suede driving shoes.”
Michael Hogan, Telegraph

“Taskmaster’s challenges are so tricksy, and demand such a combination of physical energy, lateral thinking and luck, that no one can be sure of winning every round. But my money this time is on comedian Chloe Petts, because she’s got the right attitude — she’s delighted to be taking part, and she gave each game her best while accepting her defeats in good part. That’s the winning formula. Keep striving, keep believing and keep your sense of humour. There’s a lesson there somewhere.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The series has been compared to Eastbound & Down, on account of its love of cartoonish characters being crass in a sporting context, and to the show that surely influenced its commissioning, Ted Lasso. Both Powers and Lasso feature a main character who is winging it, and both play off a naughty sense of humour against a weakness for sweet, folksy wisdom. In its overall structure, though, Powers most recalls Suits, the legal drama where one of the lawyers was secretly an unqualified impostor, and where the narrative was destined to destroy itself: the only thing that could really happen was someone finding out, but the more people who found out, the less room the story had to breathe.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian