Taskmaster Australia is an Australian comedy panel game show first broadcast on Network 10 in 2023.[3] Based on the UK series Taskmaster created by comedian Alex Horne, it sets five comedians ridiculous tasks to complete, and judged against each other by the "Taskmaster", Tom Gleeson, accompanied by his assistant, comedian Tom Cashman.[4] The show's first season was broadcast in early 2023, and a second season was announced in mid-2023 and is set to air in 2024.
Format
Taskmaster is a comedic panel show wherein five contestants compete in the completion of tasks set by "The Taskmaster" (Tom Gleeson) and umpired by the "Taskmaster's Assistant" (Tom Cashman). The tasks can involve physical, creative and lateral thinking skills.
Following the format of the British version, in each episode contestants compete for five prizes that they have brought in, along a theme that they are ranked against for points. Three pre-recorded tasks—completed separately by each contestant (or occasionally in teams)—are shown and judged in the studio by The Taskmaster. Tasks are filmed within the Taskmaster Retreat, with the areas including The Lounge, The Kitchen, The Lab and The Caravan. A final live task takes place in the studio. As well as winners within each episode, one contestant becomes the winner of the series and takes home a trophy modelled after The Taskmaster's head.
Cast
In the studio, other than while attempting the live task, the contestants sit on a row of chairs in alphabetical order of forename from left to right.
Key
The Taskmaster franchise was conceived by Alex Horne and first televised in Britain, where Horne plays the Taskmaster's Assistant. The British version debuted in 2014.[5] Confirmation of an Australian version was announced in October 2022, to be produced by Avalon Television (the British production company) with Kevin & Co for Network 10.[1][6][7]
The pre-recorded tasks were filmed in the same house in New Zealand that Taskmaster New Zealand uses.[8] It is known as "The Taskmaster Retreat" in the Australian version and "The Taskmaster Ranch" in the New Zealand version. Filming took up to ten hours per day.[9]
Filming for the studio shows took place in December 2022 at the NEP Studios in Eveleigh, Sydney, New South Wales.[8][10][11] Gleeson remarked of the filming, that it was the first show he had done where "right from the very first episode, all the audience seats were sold out".[9]
Tasks for the series were written by a team,[2] which includes Sam Smith (who also writes tasks for the New Zealand version),[12] alongside Cashman,[13] with development assisted by show producer Cam Bakker, and, as with all the international adaptations, sent to show creator Alex Horne for final approval.[9] Executive producer Sarah Thornton remarked that the aim is to bring in new writers each series to "keep it fresh".[2]
The Age praised that the third episode saw the series "continue to settle in nicely", largely in the style of the British version. The reviewer noted that Gleeson—"a cheerful, friendly-looking chap who has built a career on telling people they suck"—has a different Taskmaster personality to British host Greg Davies.[30]
