Last year, the most widely viewed reality show in the world suddenly faced a big problem. Since its premiere in 2002, “Top Gear” had been an unprecedented success for the BBC. Over the years, the British car show went from being popular in the United Kingdom to becoming viewers’ favorite show in many other countries — including the United States, where it aired on BBC America.

It had a global audience of over 350 million in more than 200 territories worldwide, earning over £150 million ($225 million American) for the BBC. It was a ratings and fandom phenomenon akin to HBO’s “Game of Thrones” (except with cars instead of warring kingdoms and monsters) — and it attracted guest appearances from such superstars as Tom Cruise, Will Smith, and Hugh Jackman.

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Then the face of the franchise, Jeremy Clarkson, went and punched a guy.

The “punch heard ’round the world” happened in March 2015, and that’s when everything changed. It’s why we now essentially have two iterations of “Top Gear.” A show still exists on the BBC with that name — but critics and longtime fans alike have panned that show, and its ratings accordingly dropped.

Meanwhile, Clarkson — who co-created “Top Gear” — and his two longtime co-hosts helped create “The Grand Tour” for Amazon. It has a few new bells and whistles — necessarily, because most established “Top Gear” segments are BBC intellectual property — but for fans, this is the true “Top Gear” in everything but name.

“The Grand Tour” has been an unprecedented success since it premiered on Nov. 18. While Amazon has declined to disclose specific figures, a study by Symphony Advanced Media indicated the premiere scored a record 1.954 million viewers in the age 18 to 49 demographic so coveted by advertisers. That’s more than triple Amazon’s previous best-ever premiere, for “The Man in the High Castle.”

“The Grand Tour” appears to have brought everyone along for the ride, and U.S. fans are no exception.

On the Internet Movie Database, “The Grand Tour” holds an astonishing 9.5 rating (out of a possible 10) among users, putting it in the company of such shows as “Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad,” each of which also hold 9.5 scores.

By way of comparison, the two highest-rated films on IMDB — “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Godfather” — each have an average 9.2 rating.

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No sensible person would ever claim “The Grand Tour” is an artistic achievement comparable to those universally acclaimed shows and films. But it does speak to fans’ fervent support of the classic “Top Gear” trio.

The appreciation isn’t entirely limited to fans: While “The Grand Tour” holds a 97-percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it also has a 100 percent fresh rating among critics on the site. (Granted, it only includes five reviews, but the show is five for five regardless.)

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It’s a huge win for Amazon and a comparable loss for the BBC, which essentially fired Clarkson after he reportedly punched and verbally abused a “Top Gear” producer. Co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May declined to continue without Clarkson, keeping the popular team intact to create what would become “The Grand Tour.”

The BBC tried to keep its cash cow alive regardless, tapping British presenter Chris Evans (no relation to the “Captain America” actor) and American TV star Matt LeBlanc to co-host a new season.

It didn’t go well. The thrill of “Top Gear” was always as much about the colorful personalities of Clarkson, Hammond, and May, and the chemistry among them, as it was about the cars themselves. Fans and critics largely found Evans (not a true “car guy”) out of his depth — while LeBlanc had zero chemistry with Evans. By comparison, “The Grand Tour” flourished right out of the gate.

To a degree, the Amazon show’s immediate popularity could be interpreted as a victory over political correctness. Over his lengthy tenure on “Top Gear,” Clarkson’s blunt talk and proudly insensitive brand of humor regularly irritated PC proponents.

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As Wikipedia notes, “Top Gear” viewers during Clarkson’s tenure had complained about “incidents and content ranging from … promoting irresponsible driving, ridiculing environmental issues, Germans, Mexicans, and Poles, and alleged homophobia … British comedian and guest of the program Steve Coogan has criticized [the show], accusing it of lazy, adolescent humor and ‘casual racism.'”

Clarkson is also well-known for his disdain for big government and criticism of liberal causes in Britain. He’s said that government should “build park benches and that is it. They should leave us alone” — and he’s taken issue with smoking and hunting bans, among other progressive causes.

The future remains very bright for the new show, whereas the BBC program remains in chaos.

Just as “Top Gear” had a massive worldwide fan base, “The Grand Tour” appears to have brought everyone along for the ride — and U.S. fans are no exception.

“It’s amazing how well the trio slips right back into top form in the first episode,” said Brandon Zarzyczny of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the birthplace of Little League Baseball. “This show is funnier than most of the comedies on TV, and it has to be one of the most gorgeous shows on TV, as they really spared no expense on the production values.”

“This is the real ‘Top Gear,'” said Freddie Peters of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. “The name isn’t the brand. The [hosts] are the brand. The fans were always going to follow the guys wherever they went.”

“The Grand Tour” hasn’t been completely immune to criticism. After its well-reviewed premiere, it took some hits for a shaky second episode, although the third was considered a return to form. And if anything, the humor seems to be even more juvenile than it was on the old “Top Gear” — which is saying a lot.

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But the future remains very bright for the new show — whereas the BBC program remains in chaos. Evans resigned from the new “Top Gear” earlier this year, disappointing no one, while LeBlanc is staying on in hopes of righting the ship.

At Amazon, “The Grand Tour” is contracted for 36 episodes over three years, ensuring that fans can enjoy the hijinks of Clarkson, Hammond, and May for a long time — at least as long as no one throws any punches.