BBC Studios licenses "Top Gear" format to Finland

BBC Studios has licensed the "Top Gear" format to Finland’s Nelonen and Ruutu channels to create a Finnish adaptation of the Emmy Award winning and Guinness World Record setting series.“A Finnish adaptation of 'Top Gear' has been something we have wanted to do for a long time," Jan Sailing, Head of BBC Studios Nordic, said.

The Finnish adaptation will be presented by comedian, musician and author Ismo Leikola, former elite Ice hockey winger Teemu Selänne, and actor Christoffer Strandberg, and is set to air in the spring of 2024. "Finding it a good home at Nelonen is really exciting, we are confident that with the amazing talent attached and with the very safe production hands at Rabbit Films we have the best possible chance of ensuring this is a long running success," Sailing said.

Dating back to 1977 in the UK, equating to 33 seasons with "The Stig," "Top Gear" has gained popularity worldwide. The show has a global following of 19.6 million fans on Facebook, and has been snapped up by over 150 countries worldwide to date. The family entertainment show set in the world of cars and driving, where the team of Ismo Leikola, Teemu Selänne, and Christoffer Strandberg compete in various car-related challenges to determine who among them is the ultimate driver.

They measure themselves against each other and their driving skills, car choices, and automotive knowledge, testing classic teenage cars, new city SUVs, flashy supercars, and even environmentally friendly options, placing themselves in tricky and unexpected situations as the trio puts all sorts of vehicles to the test in the city, forests, highways, and even at sea.Fans of the show will also have access to the “Star in a Car” segment.