Taskmaster (TV series)
The concept for the programme was first created by Horne for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010; he later secured a deal with Dave to adapt it for television with the first episode premiering in 2015.[3] Taskmaster proved a success on British television, spawning international versions in Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Canada (Quebec), Sweden, Spain and the United States.Taskmaster was the brainchild of comedian Alex Horne, whose idea was inspired by The Crystal Maze, his work on Big Brother,[6] and his envy of his close friend Tim Key winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2009.[7][8] He then presented their efforts as part of a two-hour show at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe titled The Task Master,[9] which focused on demonstrating the differing attempts by the contestants before revealing who won based on their performances.[11] For the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Horne conducted another stage show titled Taskmaster II at the Gilded Balloon with a similar format.[8][12][13] Both stage shows proved a success with their audiences, leading Horne to recruit production company Avalon (who were also his agency at the time) to help produce an adaptation of his concept for television, before pitching his idea to several different broadcasters.[14] British television channel Dave took interest in the idea and bought the rights to it, with comedian Greg Davies recruited to help present the programme alongside Horne.[17] The involvement of veteran comedian Frank Skinner, who agreed to join after meeting Horne for lunch,[18] helped to entice the other contestants to take part in the programme.[27] Taskmaster is a comedic game show, in which a group of five contestants – mainly comedians, but sometimes including other well-known television personalities – compete against each other by completing tasks assigned to them.Tasks are typically given to the contestants by Horne in his role as the Taskmaster's assistant, who hands them a tri-folded page sealed with red wax and the "TM" branding.Tasks are mostly pre-recorded before an episode's broadcast; the majority are usually conducted in or around the Taskmaster house, a former groundskeepers' cottage located on the outskirts of a golf course in Dukes Meadows, Chiswick.[30] However, Alex Horne's initial plan was to carry out the tasks in the comedians' houses, saying in an interview: "I didn't realise how impractical that would be both in terms of cost – and their lives.Key The British show is also broadcast in Belgium, Sweden, South Africa, Norway, Finland, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Croatia[36] and Portugal.However, the series opened to extremely low viewership (in comparison to the Canadian import, Fridge Wars, which premiered the same day), and was consequently pulled from the network's schedule on 5 August.[60] Franchise no longer airing Status unknown A German version featuring Atze Schröder as the Taskmaster and Carsten van Ryssen [de] was commissioned by RTL in 2017; two episodes were recorded but not broadcast.[63][64] A tie-in book, Taskmaster — 200 Extraordinary Tasks for Ordinary People, was written by Alex Horne and published by Penguin Random House on 6 September 2018.[70] From March to June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of lockdown in the UK, Alex Horne organised a series of tasks in the style of Taskmaster for the public to perform and record in their own homes.Andrew Billen of The Times gave a five-star review of the show's first episode, "Melon Buffet", calling it "funny, revealing, and glorious" and comparing it to The Generation Game.[81] Wesley Mead of Den of Geek wrote a positive review in 2016, praising the show as the "crowning jewel" of original programming on Dave, and approving of the design of the tasks and the range of approaches that contestants demonstrate.
TaskmasterComedyPanel gameAlex HorneAndy DevonshireGreg DaviesThe Horne SectionDru MastersTom Howelist of episodesJon ThodayClapham GrandFountain StudiosPinewood StudiosAvalon TelevisionChannel 4Bäst i testTaskmaster (American TV series)Kongen befalerSuurmestariTaskmaster New ZealandLe maître du jeuTaskmaster AustraliaEntertainmentCreator AwardsEdinburgh Festival FringeAustraliaFinlandNew ZealandNorwayCanada (Quebec)SwedenUnited StatesCOVID-19 pandemicThe Crystal MazeBig BrotherTim KeyEdinburgh Comedy AwardMike WozniakJoe WilkinsonMark WatsonLloyd Langfordthe Australian spinoffAl Pitcherthe Swedish spinoffTom BasdenHenning WehnRick EdwardsJosie LongStuart GoldsmithMark OlverTim FitzHighamTom WrigglesworthJarred ChristmasLloyd WoolfJames DowdeswellGilded BalloonBruce Dessauagencypilot episodeChiswickpanel showsitcomFrank SkinnerRose MatafeoJunior Bake OffTeen First DatesEd Gamblestop-motion videolateral thinkingDukes MeadowsBuckinghamshire Railway CentreChesham UnitedFrogmore Paper Millart decoVictoriansteampunkThe ApprenticeThe Great British Bake OffJosh WiddicombeRoisin ConatyRomesh RanganathanDoc BrownJon RichardsonKatherine RyanRichard OsmanAl MurrayDave GormanPaul ChowdhryRob BeckettSara PascoeHugh DennisJoe LycettLolly AdefopeMel GiedroycNoel FieldingAisling BeaBob MortimerNish KumarSally PhillipsAlice LevineAsim ChaudhryLiza TarbuckRussell HowardTim VineJames AcasterJessica KnappettKerry GodlimanPhil WangRhod GilbertIain StirlingJoe ThomasLou SandersPaul SinhaSian GibsonDavid BaddielJo BrandKaty WixDaisy May CooperJohnny VegasKatherine ParkinsonMawaan RizwanRichard HerringJohn HannahKrishnan Guru-MurthyNicola Coughlan