Discovery announced back in October that it would be bringing back Paul Teutel Sr. and Paul Teutel Jr. for a brand new season of American Chopper, more than eight years after the hugely popular series was canceled as the stars’ father/son relationship fell apart on screen. Now we have the first extended preview trailer of what viewers can expect this season, and the network has made the premiere episode available to stream online for cable subscribers!
Here’s the preview trailer, in which it appears that the show will be more of what fans loved about the original incarnation: motorcycle fabrication and man drama:
The premiere episode is titled “Welcome Home,” and it does a fantastic job of setting the stage by explaining Sr. and Jr.’s history on and off camera — including the fact that Paul Sr. missed out on his son’s wedding and the birth of his grandchild. (In case you missed it, Paul Teutel, Sr. may have been extra-motivated to relaunch the show as he is currently struggling with legal and financial woes including a multi-million dollar bankruptcy filing.)
The two Teutels make peace, with the help of fan-favorite “other son” Mikey Teutel, and soon they are back to all the stress and drama that goes along with building bikes under a deadline.
Much like Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, it seems obvious right away that the Teutels have the exact same on-screen chemistry that made them so entertaining to watch the first time around — and it appears as though their bike-building skills have only improved since viewers last saw them. I am guessing that the show will be a huge success for Discovery when it officially returns on Monday, May 28 at 10/9c.
Of course, the show’s chances of success are only increased by the fact that the infamous American Chopper fight scene in which Paul Teutel Jr. is fired by his father has become one of the Top 10 most popular memes of 2018! The meme involves captioning various screen grabs from the infamous scene in which Sr. screams at Jr. for his lack of punctuality, before Jr. throws a chair and storms off as Sr. tells him not to come back.
Here is a sample of the meme that I made just for this post:
Congratulations to the Teutels on their return to television. I really look forward to watching their father/son dynamic mature, and to see some more great bikes being built!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm.
