Taskmaster

Greg Davies is the Taskmaster, and with the help of his ever-loyal assistant Alex Horne, they will set out to test the wiles, wit, wisdom and skills of five hyper-competitive comedians. Who will be crowned the Taskmaster champion?

Taskmaster (2015-present) is a British comedy game show created by Alex Horne for Channel 4 and U&Dave. Greg Davies plays the stern, exacting Taskmaster, who is assisted by Alex Horne, his ever-loyal and long-suffering helper. Across twenty-two seasons, five hyper-competitive comedians including Russell Howard, Jack Dee, Asim Chaudhry and Andy Zaltzman face a weekly run of bizarre, fiddly tasks, from building things with impossible materials to completing ridiculous challenges in a single household room. Points are awarded for creativity and inventive interpretation rather than skill, so the comedians hunt for loopholes and literal readings of every instruction. The engine is simple: each episode is a self-contained challenge, and the contestants' attempts escalate into absurd, warm, self-deprecating banter. The show is an anthology of standalone series, with each season resetting the contestants and the competition. Fans of Would I Lie to You?, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Mock the Week will find resonance in its cozy, playful, quick-witted tone and its reliance on comic improvisation under pressure. Its gentle, breezy register makes it easy to dip into one episode at a time.

Viewers broadly acclaim Taskmaster as a consistently funny and inventive comedy competition, with its absurd tasks and sharp host dynamic drawing high audience ratings across more than two decades of seasons.

• Would I Lie to You?competitive comedy panel format, comedians tested by absurd tasks
• Taskmaster (New Zealand)light competitive comedy, playful challenges, comedic host
• Mock the Weekcomedians competing in games with a dry host, silly tasks and warm banter
• Whose Line Is It Anyway?quick witted comedians improvising under playful pressure

Created by

Alex Horne

Release Date

2015-07-28

Episode runtime

46 min

Rating

9.0 / 10 (236)

What is Taskmaster about?

Comedians compete in increasingly absurd tasks set by a gruff host, with points awarded for inventive interpretation rather than skill.

What is Taskmaster like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Taskmaster as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.

Is Taskmaster violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Taskmaster.

What did critics think of Taskmaster?

Viewers broadly acclaim Taskmaster as a consistently funny and inventive comedy competition, with its absurd tasks and sharp host dynamic drawing high audience ratings across more than two decades of seasons.

Which shows are like Taskmaster?

Shows with a similar feel include Would I Lie to You?, Taskmaster (New Zealand), Mock the Week, and Whose Line Is It Anyway?.

How long is Taskmaster?

Taskmaster: 22 seasons, 202 episodes.

Is Taskmaster still running?

Yes, Taskmaster is still running.

Where can I watch Taskmaster?

In United States, Taskmaster streams on Hulu.