Whether you like the classic muscle cars or favor the newest Lamborghini models, Netflix’s “Hyperdrive” will give you something to cheer about and visually stimulate you. It may even interest the more casual car enthusiast who knows enough about performance to measure the competition. The show was put together with the help of Executive Director Charlize Theron, who is often found as a passenger in some of the competitor’s cars. And if that is not enough, there are a number of other reasons to watch the show.
It serves as a vehicle to unite car enthusiasts from around the world. The competition is international, and as another Executive Producer, Chris Cowan notes, “Car culture is tribal, it’s fractured.” There is a lot of truth to this, and “Hyperdrive” is making a valiant attempt to find the right mix of challenges to test both car and driver. Many car enthusiasts divide themselves between speed, watching events such as the Indy 500, and performance, preferring the Le Mans track where even prototype model cars are welcome.
The types of drivers are as different as the geographical locations they come from. Competitors come from the drag racing circuit, while others are rally masters and still others are simply drifters looking for the next event to compete in. That translates into being able to see which type of driver has the most agile skill set to win on a course that many draw parallels to the show “American Ninja Warrior.” In keeping with the theme of uniting car enthusiasts, viewers can watch the abilities of both man and machine in an elimination competition to see which combination comes out on top.
However, none of the participants are professional drivers. This is an element of the show that attracts the most average of car enthusiasts, as they are able to mentally put themselves in the driver’s seat and evaluate what they would do to navigate the course. While a large number of football fans always like to play armchair quarterback, “Hyperdrive” does the same for its viewers. And should the initial 10 episode first season turn out to be a ratings success it is almost certain a second season will follow, giving viewers the opportunity to find out if they can take their car and become as participant in the show.
But once you know the rules of the show you may not be so willing to make the trek. The reason is that the show provides no compensation or reimbursement for anything that may happen to the cars during the competition. Whether you see the fact that there is no actual prize money good or bad, as a viewer you can watch drivers that are purely in it for the competition aspect go for it all. Yes, it is a reality show but clearly the drivers are not in it for the money.
As for the drivers themselves, car enthusiasts get to see profiles of the drivers engaged in the competition. That is par for most reality shows, but since most viewers are drivers themselves they have the opportunity to compare personalities and see what characteristics they have in common with the wild and crazy participants.
There is the possibility of watching and hearing metal against concrete. It is not true of everyone who watches racing car events, but there is a certain eerie attraction to seeing an accident (without the driver being seriously injured, of course). Because the “Hyperdrive” course is not just a speed test or a performance race, but an actual obstacle course spread out over 100 acres of land, there are plenty of opportunities to witness a driver making a major mistake and watching them crunch their car — sometimes over and over.
Speaking of the obstacle course, there are some very unique challenges that contestants have never experienced before and have no way of actually preparing for. One of those obstacles, the rail slide, has the car sliding along something similar to a stairway railing. According to one competitor from the show, Brittany Williams, “It’s a madman concoction,” she says. “If you hit it wrong, things can go south very, very quickly.”
With all the action going on, it is fair to ask how does the show manage to follow all the action without missing an accident or error? There are a total of 70 cameras used in the production of the show, so the total amount of available video is staggering. It may be just as challenging as the obstacles course as the producers and editors need to find the right mix to be both interesting and entertaining. Watching cars crash for an hours seems more like a demolition derby, while focusing on speed events is akin to watching the Indy 500. If you choose to tune in, you will have to judge for yourself whether they have managed to find that right mix.
A Fox News Auto article made the case that a show such as “Hyperdrive” was inevitable. It combines the popular mix of reality show with something most people can easily relate to — driving a car. But putting together a series that would entertain car enthusiasts from the many different types of car racing was actually the bigger challenge. The natural human tendency to slow down when driving to get a glimpse of an accident is something that has to be repressed when watching the show, since there is a fast paced event happening at the same time elsewhere on the course. Overall, the show can be seen as a contrast of car concepts.
Tuning in may be the only chance to see a show such as “Hyperdrive” because should the ratings not allow for a second season, it will just be seen as another attempt to be a money making reality show. But the drivers are as far from that thought as a Yugo is from a Ferrari.
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