Taskmaster Australia
Also known asTaskmaster
GenreComedy, panel game
Created byAlex Horne
Developed byCam Bakker
Written by
Directed by
  • Tom Furniss
  • Andy Devonshire
Presented byTom Gleeson
StarringTom Cashman
Theme music composerThe Horne Section
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Alex Horne
  • Richard Allen-Turner
  • Rob Aslett
  • James Taylor
  • Jon Thoday
  • Andy Devonshire[1]
  • Sarah Thornton[2]
ProducerCam Bakker
Production locationsSydney, Australia (S1, studio filming)
Melbourne, Australia (S2, studio filming)
New Zealand (task filming)
Running time47 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetwork 10
Release2 February 2023 (2023-02-02) –
present
Related
Taskmaster (British TV series)

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

  •  *  Series champion
Series Seating
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
1 Danielle Walker * Jimmy Rees Julia Morris Luke McGregor Nina Oyama
2 Aaron Chen Concetta Caristo Mel Buttle Peter Helliar Rhys Nicholson

Production

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]

A second season has been confirmed for 2024. Filming began in July 2023.[14][15] The cast was revealed on 10 July 2023 as Peter Helliar, Mel Buttle, Aaron Chen, Concetta Caristo, and Rhys Nicholson.[16]

Episodes

The first series consists of 10 episodes and was broadcast on Network 10 starting on 2 February 2023.[17] In order of placement, the contestants were Danielle Walker (winner), Julia Morris, Jimmy Rees, Nina Oyama and Luke McGregor.

No.TitleWinnerOriginal air date
1"Foot Juice"Danielle Walker2 February 2023 (2023-02-02)
2"Keep It Clean and Flowing"Nina Oyama9 February 2023 (2023-02-09)
3"Cricketmaster"Julia Morris16 February 2023 (2023-02-16)
4"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM"Jimmy Rees23 February 2023 (2023-02-23)
5"Are You Okay?"Julia Morris2 March 2023 (2023-03-02)
6"Lucky with a Sausage"Danielle Walker9 March 2023 (2023-03-09)
7"The Energy of a Sickly Child"Jimmy Rees16 March 2023 (2023-03-16)
8"Dumb in Unison"Julia Morris23 March 2023 (2023-03-23)
9"Sorry for Your Loss"Jimmy Rees30 March 2023 (2023-03-30)
10"Don't Ask Me What a JC Is"Danielle Walker6 April 2023 (2023-04-06)

Reception

Ratings

Chortle reported that the pilot was a "strong start" for ratings, as the show was third in its timeslot.[18]

Episode Metropolitan Total Refs
Metro overnights Rank Metro consolidated Rank Total overnights Rank Total consolidated Rank
1 (2/2/2023) 360,00011442,00011 509,00012621,00011 [19][20]
2 (9/2/2023) 305,00014374,00012 418,00013506,00013 [21]
3 (16/2/2023) 314,00014364,00014 403,00017479,00016 [22]
4 (23/2/2023) 302,00016366,00015 405,00017497,00015 [23]
5 (2/3/2023) 309,00015371,00013 398,00015486,00013 [24]
6 (9/3/2023) 304,00014368,00013 419,00015504,00013 [25]
7 (16/3/2023) 270,00014334,00014 375,00017458,00015 [26]
8 (23/3/2023) 242,00017308,00014 331,00019428,00015 [27]
9 (30/3/2023) 235,00016299,00015 330,000=19416,00016 [28]
10 (6/4/2023) 269,00014375,00013 367,00016518,00012 [29]

Critical reception

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]

See also

References

    1. 1 2 Starkey, Adam (6 October 2022). "Australian version of 'Taskmaster' is in the works". NME. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    2. 1 2 3 Gollasch, Grace (2 February 2023). ""Imperfectly perfect": How 10 is putting an Aussie spin on comedy game show Taskmaster". MediaWeek. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    3. ↑ "Airdate: Taskmaster | TV Tonight". TVTonight.com.au. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
    4. ↑ Laidlaw, Kyle (2022-10-06). "TOM GLEESON takes comedians to task on TASKMASTER AUSTRALIA coming to CHANNEL 10 in 2023". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
    5. ↑ "Alex Horne and Greg Davies star in new show Taskmaster". British Comedy Guide. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
    6. ↑ Frater, Patrick (5 October 2022). "Hit Comedy Format 'Taskmaster' to Be Produced in Australia by Paramount". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    7. ↑ "Why Taskmaster was a hard sell..." Chortle. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
    8. 1 2 Knox, David (22 November 2022). "Audience tix: Taskmaster". TVTonight.com.au. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
    9. 1 2 3 Cain, Sain (1 February 2023). "Taskmaster comes to Australia: 'I am better than Greg Davies – make that the headline!'". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    10. ↑ "Taskmaster AU: Season 1". TaskmasterInfo. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    11. ↑ Knox, David (13 December 2022). "First pic of Taskmaster set". TVTonight.com.au. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
    12. ↑
    13. ↑ Smith, Sam [@ReelBigSmith] (November 1, 2022). "Tom Cashman has been doing that and making sure our NZ ideas about Australia aren't too cringe" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    14. ↑ Kelly, Vivienne (2023-06-07). "'Taskmaster Australia' Season 2 Confirmed and in Production". Variety Australia. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
    15. ↑ "Tom Cashman". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
    16. ↑ https://10play.com.au/theproject/articles/taskmaster-australia-announces-its-season-2-line-up/tpa230710xoamf
    17. ↑ "Taskmaster". 10 play. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
    18. ↑ "Australia's Taskmaster gets off to a strong start". Chortle. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
    19. ↑ Knox, David (3 February 2023). "Tom Gleeson debuts as 10's Taskmaster against MAFS". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
    20. ↑ Knox, David (3 February 2023). "Thursday 2 February 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
    21. ↑ Knox, David (10 February 2023). "Thursday 9 February 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
    22. ↑ Knox, David (17 February 2023). "Thursday 16 February 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
    23. ↑ Knox, David (24 February 2023). "Thursday 23 February 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
    24. ↑ Knox, David (3 March 2023). "Thursday 2 March 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
    25. ↑ Knox, David (10 March 2023). "Thursday 9 March 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
    26. ↑ Knox, David (17 March 2023). "Thursday 16 March 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
    27. ↑ Knox, David (24 March 2023). "Thursday 23 March 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
    28. ↑ Knox, David (31 March 2023). "Thursday 30 March 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
    29. ↑ Knox, David (7 April 2023). "Thursday 6 April 2023". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
    30. ↑ "Your Week on TV". The Age. 16 February 2023. ProQuest 2776404984.
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