The Grand Tour season 4 – otherwise known as The Grand Tour Presents – started in late 2019 with an episode called ‘Seamen’. That episode hosted Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond as they swapped their cars for boats in Cambodia and Vietnam, which proved a popular departure from the trio’s regular shenanigans.
Since then, fans have been waiting patiently for the next episode of The Grand Tour, which Amazon Prime has confirmed is coming at an unspecified date this year. The Grand Tour season 4’s episodes were always going to have staggered release dates, but there may be a longer wait between instalments after episode 2. We do, however, know that it’ll drop “strategically” to avoid battling with Top Gear, as James May said to Good Morning Britain in July.
Two further specials have been delayed by the current health pandemic, since international travel isn’t that easy or viable right now. Below, we’ll explain what we know about The Grand Tour season 4 episode 2’s release date, as well as its next, Russia-based episode.
The Grand Tour season 4 episode 2 release date is later this year
Yes, the next Special will land later this year.Yes, it’s filmed in Madagascar and yes, there will be cars.Yes, we wanted to go to Russia.No, we couldn’t (we all know why).Yes, we will try again.No, we don’t know when.Yes, we will keep you updated.#TheGrandTourJuly 7, 2020
Amazon has finally addressed what’s going on with The Grand Tour Presents’ release date in the post above in July 2020. It’s been confirmed that the next episode of The Grand Tour season 4 will drop this year, but the following episode, to be filmed in Russia, is up in the air over the current health crisis.
James May reiterated this in a chat with The Sun. “The effects of lockdown on making TV shows is that we have to retract our ambitions for travel,” he said. He also stressed that he and the team “would rather wait a bit longer rather than rushing it for the sake of it and coming out with something half-arsed.”
Clarkson also addressed the question of what’s happened to the next instalment of The Grand Tour on the channel Drive Tribe back in April, and a timeframe of 2-3 weeks to finish the next Amazon special was mentioned. They’re in the “final strokes” of completing it, was Clarkson’s exact wording.
We have one pretty much ready to go and when this virus business is settled, we will head off to do two more.March 7, 2020
Responding to a complaint from a viewer on Twitter back in March, host Jeremy Clarkson says that the next episode of The Grand Tour is “pretty much ready to go”, as you can see above. When asked about further episodes beyond the three confirmed in this tweet, Clarkson responded with “Give us a break.”
The Grand Tour season 4 is delayed by coronavirus
Two more episodes, likely from the same series of specials, are delayed because of coronavirus and the current concern around international travel. Responding to another complaint about the wait for new episodes of The Grand Tour on Twitter, Clarkson said, “Maybe you haven’t heard. There’s a virus you see and it’s making international travel tricky.”
Coronavirus is still spreading in some parts of the world, obviously, so while we know episode 2 of The Grand Tour season 4 in 2020, you will have a longer wait for more episodes.
The plan is that the next episode of The Grand Tour Presents will be filmed in Russia, but the team has to “wait for the snow again and we’ll go next year,” according to executive producer Andy Wilman. After this Madagascar episode, then, you will likely be waiting until 2021 for the next episode of The Grand Tour season 4.
What is The Grand Tour season 4 episode 2 about?
The exact theme of this episode is unclear, but as of late 2019 when promoting the Seamen special, Clarkson told Globalnews that the next episode “starts in La Réunion and then ends largely in Madagascar. We started on the very same beach that a Scotsman was eaten the other day.”
The shallow lagoons around there are snorkeling hotspots – but it doesn’t give us many clues of what to expect from this next episode. We do know that the hosts were “marooned” on a tropical island in November during filming for this special miles away from their crew, but they eventually made it out of Madagascar alive and well.
Presumably the trio will be wreaking as much havoc as ever. A now-removed job vacancy for a team member you can handle “grumpy officials” has now been pulled. With the capers the three have got up to in the past, lord help whomever gets that gig.