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The Street
The Street
Jena Warburton

Beloved show suspended indefinitely following harrowing accident

One of the biggest excitements about the holiday season and the new year is looking forward to new shows. 

Take, for example, some of Netflix's (NFLX) -) most-watched shows, "Selling Sunset" -- a real estate reality show set in the tony areas of Los Angeles -- and "The Crown," a docudrama about the British royal family.

Related: Beloved grocery store makes a major change effective January 1

Both shows were released ahead of Thanksgiving, when plenty of eyeballs will be in closer proximity to living room flat screen TVs than work computers. 

Fall and winter seem to be the golden season for TV shows and entertainment. Take a look at your local cinema's lineup, the NFL schedule, and the many streaming service's newly released categories and you'll notice that there are plenty of options. 

But one beloved show is getting the boot this holiday season, leaving fans around the world devastated by the news. 

Beloved U.K. show canceled for foreseeable future

One of the most popular shows in the U.K, "Top Gear," which is a show that mixes car reviews with entertainment, will suspend production indefinitely as the BBC has a rethink about the series. 

The decision comes after one of the show's hosts and former England cricket captain, Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff recovers from a bad accident he sustained while filming the most recent season in 2022. 

British television BBC presenters of motor show "Top Gear" are pictured while they drive a Lamborghini (L), Ferrari (C) and Aston Martin (R) cars on Transfagarasan road close to Sibiu city, 300 km northwest from Bucharest, on September 24, 2009. The three presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will drive the latest models of Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lamborghini on different roads and cities in Romania as Bucharest, Vidraru dam, Danube Delta and seacoast of Black Sea. AFP PHOTO ANA POENARIU (Photo credit should read ANA POENARIU/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

"Top Gear will not be seen for the “foreseeable future” on TV, the BBC has said," Deadline reported on Tuesday. "The show has been off air since host Andrew Flintoff picked up 'life-alteringly significant' injuries following the crash, which led to a £9M ($11.2M) payout for the cricketing legend and a health and safety review." 

Flintoff's accident occurred in December 2022, and he was still showing the effects of his injuries early this fall

"Top Gear," began in 1977 as a local car review and safety show. It gained international recognition when it re-launched in 2002, with hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and Jason Dawe (who was later replaced by James May) at the helm. In 2006, Hammond also suffered a life-threatening accident while filming. He had been driving 288 mph in Yorkshire, U.K.

Following Hammond's recovery and return (and the show's resurgence, which remains one of the BBC's top-watched shows of all time), Clarkson was dismissed from the show in 2015 after assaulting a producer. 

After his dismissal, May and Hammond also departed the show and BBC reshuffled its hosting lineup, interchanging several personalities before landing on Chris Harris, Andrew Flintoff, and Paddy McGuinness

"Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future. The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show's renaissance since 2019, and we're excited about new projects being developed with each of them. We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do," BBC said in a statement Tuesday.

"All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing."

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