"Comedy" Producer Lisa Clark Bails From Chris Evans' Top Gear

[Spectre]

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/dec/22/bbc-top-gear-executive-producer-chris-evans

BBC's Top Gear relaunch struck a blow as executive producer departs

Lisa Clark, who was personally brought in by Chris Evans, departs after less than five months with the show?s relaunch looming in May

Chris Evans?s Top Gear has been struck a blow with the departure of executive producer Lisa Clark less than five months after being brought in to lead the relaunch of the hit BBC motoring show.

Evans personally brought in Clark, who worked with him as a producer on The Big Breakfast, to help reinvent Top Gear following the departure of co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.

Her arrival was much hyped by Evans but only a few months in ? and with just five months until the first show is due to air on 8 May ? Clark has left the BBC to pursue ?new projects?.

?We?d like to thank Lisa for all her incredible work over the last five months readying new Top Gear for its busy filming schedule in 2016 and planned return in May,? said the BBC in a statement.

A BBC spokeswoman added that the production schedule for the show is unaffected by the loss of Clark.

Alex Renton, who has been series editor on Top Gear for a decade, will take over the reins on an interim basis until a new appointment is announced in the new year.

Clark had been brought on board to replace Andy Wilman, who has joined old school friend Clarkson to make a rival motoring show for Amazon Prime.

She set up a production company called Pett in 2001 with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.

?After an extremely busy five months I am moving on from Top Gear to new projects which I will be announcing in the new year,? said Clark. ?I?d like to wish production all the very best with the show.?

At the time of her hiring, Evans said of Clark: ?Lisa is as good as it gets when it comes to making big, important television shows.

?She?s funny, sassy, super experienced and has always absolutely loved cars.?

The appointment of a new executive producer for Top Gear will be made in the new year.

As I commented at the time of her appointment to the position:

Check out her IMDB entry - no real long-running shows, nothing memorable, whole bunch of 'smash hit' one-and-dones and one-off TV movies. She's not even run a successful series for much more than a single season. Her longest run was an 8 episode season plus one episode before and another one after and then she was gone.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1075297/?ref_=ttawd_awd_1

I can't see this going well for people *not* like us either. This lady appears to have been the kiss of death for a number of productions.

She wasn't the original executive producer and was brought in late - in 1996. She 'revamped' the show and it basically ended up being a slow motion train wreck after that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Breakfast#Relaunch

Apparently it ended up being a disaster and she is at least partially responsible for the death of the show. She was there from mid-96 until she got the boot in 97. Her disastrous reimagination-on-the-fly of the show was not something it could recover from easily.

https://books.google.com/books?id=W...nepage&q=Lisa Clark The Big Breakfast&f=false

If she had been a successful showrunner, she would have been kept on for more than the year. She wasn't.

So, yeah, basically this woman kills shows.

Either this is 'rats deserting a sinking ship' or someone realized this woman is a showkiller and got her to leave. Given Chris Evans track record, I'm thinking it's more the former than the latter.

Playing Pollyanna, perhaps this means that someone has realized that Top Gear wasn't really about comedy but was always (at least tangentially) based on, you know, cars.

 

[MWF]

Who knows? Could also be a blessing in disguise. Time will tell.

 

[Spectre]

Possibly, and it would be nice if that were so as competition is good.

However, I fear it means that the show is so bad that Ms. Clark doesn't want anything to do with it - and that's quite a lot when you notice her past career as a shameless showkiller.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, notice who's going to be an interim replacement - a long term producer so good that CHM didn't take them with when they poached all the top TG staff for Amazon. Hmmmmm....

 

[jackbauer24]

[QUOTE...Also, notice who's going to be an interim replacement - a long term producer so good that CHM didn't take them with when they poached all the top TG staff for Amazon. Hmmmmm....[/QUOTE]

I don't know if it's fair to say CHM didn't take the producer when they were poaching; maybe they offered but the producer chose to stay with TG for whatever reason.

 

[Tzarrim]

I'll just keep repeating it: Evans isn't capable of being a team player. Said it at the beginning and here, now, he's still on his own with no co-hosts and no producer.

 

[Spectre]

I don't know if it's fair to say CHM didn't take the producer when they were poaching; maybe they offered but the producer chose to stay with TG for whatever reason.

Read the crap the guy produces for the Guardian or his other employers and you'll quickly figure out the likely reasons he wasn't brought along. Did you know that global warming magically produces earthquakes now? And that food is too cheap so we should have to pay more? But somehow food isn't cheap enough for the poor, so we should make it cheaper! I?d almost bet he was the whiny voice of political correctness at meetings.

Wouldn't be surprised if he was the source of those damaging leaks from a few years ago.

I'd say this increases the chances of the New New Top Gear becoming the green, hybrid-fawning, PC-worshipping, BS-fest a lot of us were predicting it would be.

 

[MWF]

Agreed. However big the show got it still always had a feeling of an entity that was, to a great extent, by the people and for the people. Sure the trio became massive stars but they never lost sight of what truly appealed and what we, the viewers wanted to see. Yes there were some cringey films aimed at eight year olds but the cars and the scenery were always the stars, bound together by CHM and stunning production values.

Picking a a massive name might have felt safe but ultimately I think it could backfire and all the noises from CE since his appointment suggest less of a vehicle for vehicles and one more finely tuned to massage his ego. I hope I'm wrong at least for the show's sake.

 

[NecroJoe]

To be fair, if she was an *executive* producer...aren't they typically only marginally (at most) involved, anyway?

 

[Spectre]

To be fair, if she was an *executive* producer...aren't they typically only marginally (at most) involved, anyway?

Depends on the production company and structure. In this case, she was specifically said to be brought in as the showrunner, so by definition she would be intimately involved.

 

[jack_christie]

Read the crap the guy produces for the Guardian or his other employers and you'll quickly figure out the likely reasons he wasn't brought along. Did you know that global warming magically produces earthquakes now? And that food is too cheap so we should have to pay more? But somehow food isn't cheap enough for the poor, so we should make it cheaper! I?d almost bet he was the whiny voice of political correctness at meetings.

Wouldn't be surprised if he was the source of those damaging leaks from a few years ago.

I'd say this increases the chances of the New New Top Gear becoming the green, hybrid-fawning, PC-worshipping, BS-fest a lot of us were predicting it would be.

Hopefully that's a different Alex Renton. The TG Alex Renton has produced 111 TG episodes.

To be fair, if she was an *executive* producer...aren't they typically only marginally (at most) involved, anyway?

Depends on the production company and structure. In this case, she was specifically said to be brought in as the showrunner, so by definition she would be intimately involved.

She was to be the new "Andy Wilman", you don't find these type of people in a hurry.

Maybe she didn't gel with the TG crew.

 

[MWF]

No, it's the same Alex Renton. I had a couple of emails from him when I was first planning to submit an audition video for TG and checked out his profile on LinkedIn.

 

[jack_christie]

No, it's the same Alex Renton. I had a couple of emails from him when I was first planning to submit an audition video for TG and checked out his profile on LinkedIn.

You sure?

TG AR?
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alex-renton-5b1a921

Other AR
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alex-renton-20890b5

 

[MWF]

Obviously not then. In that case Spectre's case against him being overly PC etc kind of withers away to an extent.

 

[jack_christie]

Obviously not then. In that case Spectre's case against him being overly PC etc kind of withers away to an extent.

Bit worrying that the idea of a new creative direction has hit a roadblock

 

[laxmax613]

I'm graduating college soon. The timing might actually work out on this one.