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Matt LeBlanc Is The Secret To ‘Top Gear’s’ Improved Ratings: More LeBlanc, Less Chris Evans

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 04:06 PST, Jun 15, 2016

Matt LeBlanc, who is best known for playing Joey Tribbiani on Friends and now as one of the two hosts of the new season of Top Gear, has had a little turbulence in his new show. His current hosting position on Top Gear has seemingly been bad luck for the new season as the previous two episodes have failed to win over fans.

LeBlanc’s luck looks like it might have changed, though, as he has seemingly become the charm that made the third episode of the new season a hit. According to the Daily Record, Matt LeBlanc helped Top Gear win more fans in an episode that gave viewers more of LeBlanc and less of his co-host, Chris Evans.

The past episodes of the current season have put Top Gear under fire from fans for the poor performances by Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans in hosting the show. The latest episode brought a welcome change as it was dramatically better received. The last episode was distinctly different from the first, two as the show had less of Chris Evans and more of Matt LeBlanc, which evidently was a positive change for the fans. Users took to Twitter to praise the episode and to rejoice in the scarce screen time of Evans. Fans note that a massive improvement was seen in the show when Matt LeBlanc was given more screen time than Chris Evans.

While the ratings were bad at one point, Matt LeBlanc did not seem to be affected by it at all. According to the Mirror, Matt LeBlanc was in attendance at a Bruce Springsteen concert at Wembley Stadium just mere hours after disappointing ratings of Top Gear were revealed.

Matt LeBlanc did not look disappointed or affected, the opposite was, in fact, more evident as he looked cheerful with his tongue sticking out and did not show any signs of distress, especially in the selfie that he posted on social media.

http://instagram.com/p/BGSENChDtup/

Prior to the latest episode, Top Gear saw a significant decline in American viewership despite Matt LeBlanc hosting the show. For comparison, the debut episode of this season with Matt LeBlanc hosting it alongside Chris Evans had a viewership of 388,000, whereas the debut episode hosted by Clarkson was viewed by 530,000.

Despite all the charisma that Matt LeBlanc is known for, the hosting position did not do so well initially due to what BBC America claims to be competition. Competition came not in the form of another program, but in the form of two major sporting events: the finals of ice hockey’s Stanley Cup and the NBA Western Conference.

The latest episode of Top Gear featured many highlights from Matt LeBlanc as fans seemingly enjoyed his presence on the show. According to the Telegraph, Matt LeBlanc and his pre-taped segment were the best bit of the show.

Fans of LeBlanc’s most famous role in one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, Friends, might remember the multi-episode “The One with Ross’s Wedding,” where the cast of the show flew to London, and the episode was notably filled with famous London sights and celebrity cameos. The latest episode of Top Gear gave Matt LeBlanc the chance to channel Joey on the small screen again as he was put in a car, driven by rally car driver Ken Block, which would speed through London. While Matt was in the car, he was reading from a guide book. The segment was very funny and it was very reminiscent of Matt LeBlanc’s days as Joey from Friends.

[Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images]

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