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EXCLUSIVE: After Amazon launched the first in a series of special episodes from The Grand Tour team, the streamer is preparing to send out Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May on solo missions.

May will be the first out the traps with his travel show, James May: Our Man In Japan, in which he spends three months exploring the Asian country from top to bottom. It premieres on January 3, 2020.

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Made by British production company Plum Pictures, May told Deadline why his adventure is a “lark” to be enjoyed, rather than a serious historical or cultural endeavor.

The presenter also discussed his vision for the future of television, the benefits of spending less time with Clarkson and Hammond, and why he would never launch a TV production company.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Deadline: How did your Amazon series James May: Our Man In Japan come about?

James May: I can probably admit that we did pitch it to the BBC many years ago, and they rejected it, and then took Sue Perkins. I was very hurt. But I mean, I’ve been to Japan quite a few times, always with work, and I really loved it. And I said to [my director] Tom [Whitter], “The travelogue I do, we could do that for Amazon and I still would love to go and find out about Japan.” To be honest they couldn’t really stop us. They said I could have a six-part series, so I said, “Right, I’m going to Japan.” Okay? As it turned out they’d liked it as an idea a lot, so off we went.

Deadline: You Grand Tour boys have spoken about the creative freedom that Amazon affords you, and that clearly extends into your solo projects as well?

May: Yes. I mean, they don’t interfere. I think they sort of have the good sense to let us do it our own way and they know… I mean, it’s not as if we’ve ever made any telly before. We know broadly what we’re doing. So yeah, they didn’t interfere at all. They did come out and visit us while we were there, but I think they just wanted a trip to Japan to be honest. And so, yeah, they left us to it. They watched the programs when we’ve made it, they make a few suggestions, and sometimes we tell them to “sod off” and sometimes they’re quite good ones. So it’s a nice relationship.

Deadline: You spent three months out there? That feels like a long time for a travelogue…

May: Yes. We planned it for three months, and it was definitely a good plan to be honest. But in our defense, when you watch it you will see we cram a lot more scenes into each episode than most travelogues do. And we did do the whole country from top to bottom, and we hadn’t done one before so we had to build in a bit of leeway. I think if we did it again now we could probably be a little bit tighter and more efficient, but not much to be honest. We didn’t slack.

Deadline: Do you think that goes back to the point we were making around kind of editorial freedom, the budget that Amazon can give you — that gave you the opportunity to spend more time and immerse yourself more?

May: Yeah. The budgets are big but don’t forget, a lot of the budget has to go on production stuff that maybe isn’t such an issue to address with broadcasters. For example, it’s in 4K which means more complex camera and sound kit, more complex editing, more data, and more memory space and more processing of it afterward to make it a global product, dubbed and subtitled and all that other stuff. So the actual budget for making the show, spread over three months, it was a nice budget but it wasn’t like we were sleeping on yachts or anything like that. We just did it like tourists. We’re not extravagant people, you know? We’re very grounded.

Deadline: You mentioned Sue Perkins doing Japan earlier this year for BBC One. I mean, these are very familiar formats for viewers. Why do you think they work? What do you think the ingredients are that make them tick for audiences?

May: Well, that’s a very good question. I don’t really know. When I watch travelogues it’s because I sort of like history, and culture and scenery, I suppose. The idea of a travelogue is that you’re supposed to take the viewer with you so they can have the experience vicariously through you, because going to Japan for three months is something that most people aren’t in the position to do, and we’re very lucky that we can. So, I suppose, the idea is, that when you watch the Japan travelogue you are going to Japan through the magic of television.