''Taskmaster New Zealand'' (also known as ''Taskmaster'' or ''Taskmaster NZ'' especially prior to season 4) is a New Zealand comedy
panel game
A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...
show, first broadcast in 2020 on
TVNZ 2
TVNZ 2 () is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up consists of dramas, comedie ...
. The format for the show was created by British comedian
Alex Horne
Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 10 September 1978) is an English comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series '' Taskmaster'', in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and ba ...
during the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
in 2010 and was subsequently developed into a successful
UK television show in 2015.
Following the format of the original British version, the show consists of five contestants who compete in a series of strange and unusual tasks to gain points from the Taskmaster,
Jeremy Wells
Jeremy Wells (born 19 January 1977) is a New Zealand Broadcast media, media personality who hosts the Radio Hauraki breakfast show with Manaia Stewart, ''Seven Sharp'' alongside Hilary Barry, and ''Taskmaster New Zealand''.
Career
Wells fir ...
, administered by his assistant, comedian
Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to:
Authors
* Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society
* Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...
.
''Taskmaster New Zealand'' is produced for
TVNZ
Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"),
more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...
with support from
NZ On Air
NZ On Air (NZOA; ), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an Crown entity, autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for providing funding for broadcasting and creative works. The commission operates l ...
. The first series was broadcast in the spring of 2020, while the second series was broadcast in the winter of 2021,
the third in winter 2022,
the fourth in winter 2023,
and the fifth in winter 2024.
Funding for a sixth season was announced in November 2024.
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
* Season champion
Episodes
Series 1 (2020)
The filming of the tasks was completed in March 2020, just before the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
caused a nationwide lockdown. The contestants were
Angella Dravid
Angella Dravid (born C. 1985/1986) is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, writer and actress.
Biography
Dravid was born c. 1985/1986 in Oman to a Samoan Christian mother and Indian Hindu father. She stated that being of mixed race, there were ma ...
,
Brynley Stent,
Guy Williams,
Leigh Hart
Leigh Hart (born 20 July 1970) is a New Zealand comedian, radio announcer and performance artist who is also known as "That Guy". He has made various appearances on New Zealand television, including ''SportsCafe'' and his own show, '' Moon TV'' ...
, and
Madeleine Sami. Dravid was the overall winner of the series, with Sami in second, Stent in third, Hart in fourth, and Williams in last place.
Greg Davies
Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'' (2012–2019), Dan Davies in '' Man ...
, the host of the original British version of ''Taskmaster'', appeared as part of the prize task in the seventh episode.
Series 2 (2021)
On 30 May 2021, the contestants for series 2 were named as
David Correos,
Guy Montgomery
Guy Montgomery (born 29September 1988) is a comedian from New Zealand. He is known for his panel game show ''Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee'', which he began as a web series before becoming a TV series, for +HR=E in New Zealand, and late ...
,
Laura Daniel
Laura Daniel (born 25 November 1990) is an actress and comedian from New Zealand.
Career
She currently reports on television show '' Seven Sharp''. Previously, she has starred in the television series '' Funny Girls'' and '' Jono and Ben''.
S ...
,
Matt Heath, and
Urzila Carlson
Urzila Carlson ( ; (born 15 February 1976) is a South African-born New Zealand comedian and actor, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular pan ...
.
Daniel was the overall winner of the series, with Montgomery as the runner-up, while Correos placed third, Heath placed fourth, and Carlson finished last.
Unlike the first series, ratings were reported in four-week averages rather than individually - and in consolidated ratings as opposed to overnights - but the series' audience generally improved throughout, from an average of 113,800 for the first four episodes, to an average of 165,800 for the last four episodes. The tenth and final episode, alone, received 187,700 viewers.
Series 1 contestant Angella Dravid cameoed in the tenth and final episode, as part of a task. MP
Chlöe Swarbrick
Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick (born 26 June 1994) is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, ...
also appears during the first episode as part of the prize tasks.
Series 3 (2022)
Funding from NZ On Air for a ten-episode third series was announced in April 2022,
having been received months earlier.
The tasks were written in February 2022.
Filming for the studio shows took place in the last week of May.
The contestants for the series were announced in June 2022 as
Chris Parker,
Josh Thomson
Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, U ...
,
Justine Smith
Justine Smith is a New Zealand comedian, writer, and actress.
Early life
Smith was born in Auckland and adopted by and raised in a self-described "conservative" family in Wainoni in Christchurch, New Zealand. Smith has an older sister. Her gra ...
,
Kura Forrester
Kura Leigh Forrester (born 1985) is a New Zealand comedian, actor and writer. In 2019, she won the Billy T Award for best emerging comedian, for her show ''Kura Woulda Shoulda''. She formerly appeared as core cast member Desdemona Schmidt on prim ...
and
Paul Ego
Paul Ego (birth name Paul Jones; born ) is a Billy T Award winning New Zealand comedian. He is best known both for his past role as leader of Team One on the New Zealand comedy current affairs panel show '' 7 Days'', and as the voice artist of t ...
. The series premiered on 6July 2022;
in the run-up to the series, series 1 and 2 were repeated on
TVNZ Duke
TVNZ Duke, formerly Duke and stylized as TVNZ DUKE or DUKE, is a New Zealand television channel run by state broadcaster Television New Zealand. It screens programming targeted at a male audience. It was launched on 20 March 2016 to replace TVN ...
across the two weekends before its launch. Thomson was the overall winner of the series, with Parker as the runner-up, while Forrester placed third, Ego placed fourth, and Smith finished last.
The series launch recorded 145,400 viewers in consolidated viewing figures.
Series2 contestant and writer for the show (from this series onwards) David Correos cameoed in the seventh episode as part of a task, as did athlete
Eliza McCartney as part of the prize task.
Series 4 (2023)
Funding for a fourth series was confirmed in December 2022.
At the time, writer Sam Smith said he had already written at least some of the tasks for the series.
The cast was revealed on 27May 2023, as
Dai Henwood
Dafydd Morgan "Dai" Henwood (born 7 February 1978) is a New Zealand stand-up comedian and television host. Henwood first performed comedy when he was studying Theatre and Film at Victoria University of Wellington. His career in television bega ...
,
Melanie Bracewell
Melanie Rita Bracewell (born 19 July 1995) is a New Zealand comedian, actress, and scriptwriter. In 2018, Bracewell won New Zealand's Billy T Award. She has hosted '' The Cheap Seats'' on Network 10 in Australia since its debut in 2021, and was ...
,
Ray O'Leary,
Sieni Leo'o Olo
Sieni Tiana Leo'oOlo (also known as Bubbah Olo or Bubbah) is a Samoan–New Zealand actress and comedian. She is "Tina from Turners" in the advertisements of Turners Automotive Group.
Early life
Leo'oOlo is from a self-described "huge" family ...
(Bubbah), and
Karen O'Leary
Karen O'Leary is a New Zealand early childhood educator, comedian and actor. She played Officer O'Leary in ''Wellington Paranormal'', which ran for four seasons from 2018–2022.
Early life and education
O'Leary grew up in Miramar, Wellingt ...
.
Ray O'Leary previously appeared on the show as part of a studio task during the third series. Bracewell was the overall winner of the series, with Bubbah as the runner-up, while Ray O'Leary placed third, Henwood placed fourth, and Karen O'Leary finished last.
Studio filming began on 31May and lasted a week.
It was confirmed on 1August that the series would premiere on 14August, with two episodes broadcast weekly.
Alex Horne made a cameo in the introduction to the third episode, with the voices of previous contestants Guy Williams, Guy Montgomery and Josh Thomson appearing together in one of the episode's tasks. Thomson also was the director for some location tasks.
Series 2 contestant Matt Heath made an indirect cameo via a task attempt in the eighth episode.
Episodes aired at an earlier timeslot compared to preceding seasons to compete with
Three
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
's ''
The Traitors NZ''. The first two episodes achieved an average audience of 157,800 viewers in consolidated viewing figures, with the second set of episodes (the third and fourth) averaging approximately 152,200 viewers, the third week of episodes (the fifth and the sixth) averaging approximately 173,000 viewers, the fourth week (episodes seven and eight) averaging approximately 163,900, and the final (episodes nine and ten) averaging 178,300. Viewership for individual episodes is unavailable due to the unique way television ratings are reported.
Series 5 (2024)
The show's recommission for a fifth series was confirmed in November 2023.
Studio filming took place between 4 and 8 June 2024.
The cast was revealed on 20July 2024, as
Abby Howells
Abigail Mai Howells is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and writer. She was the winner of the Billy T Award in 2023.
Early life and education
Howells was born in and grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand. She attended an all-girls high school, where sh ...
,
Ben Hurley
Ben Hurley is a stand-up comedian from New Zealand. Hurley started his comedy career in Wellington as resident host of The Wellington Comedy Club. After winning the Billy T Award he moved to London and worked on the comedy circuit there between ...
,
Hayley Sproull
Hayley Jayne Sproull (born 1989) is a New Zealand comedian, actor, scriptwriter, television show host and radio show co-host. She is the host of '' The Great Kiwi Bake Off'' and the New Zealand edition of '' Have You Been Paying Attention?''
Bi ...
,
Tofiga Fepulea'i, and
Tom Sainsbury.
The series started airing on 6August 2024, again with two episodes broadcast weekly at the same time slot as the season prior, and ended on 4 September 2024 with the 10th episode. Sproull was the overall winner of the series, with Hurley as the runner-up, while Sainsbury placed third, Fepulea'i placed fourth, and Howells finished last.
The first two episodes achieved an average audience of 163,600 viewers in consolidated viewing figures, with the second week of episodes averaging approx. 154,000 viewers. The third week of episodes averaged approx. 135,100 viewers, with the fourth week averaging approx. 154,100 viewers, and the final, fifth week averaging 145,600 viewers. Viewership for individual episodes is unavailable due to the unique way television ratings are reported.
As Fepulea'i was ill during the studio record, various previous contestants returned to represent him and conduct the prize and live tasks on his behalf. For episodes 1 and 2, Season 1 contestant Madeleine Sami returned; for episodes 3 and 4, Season 2 contestant Matt Heath; for episodes 5 and 6, Season 3 winner Josh Thomson; for episodes 7 and 8, Season 4 contestant Bubbah; and for episodes 9 and 10, Season 3 contestant Chris Parker. Bubbah also made an appearance in a pre-filmed task in the tenth episode.
Production
Funding from NZ On Air for the first series was announced in September 2019.
Pre-recorded tasks are filmed at a mansion in North
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
referred to as the "Taskmaster House" or "Taskmaster Ranch", which is actually a boutique events venue marketed under the name "HUs", situated between the communities of
Riverhead and
Coatesville to the north-west of Auckland, adjacent to
Riverhead Forest. The same venue is used for tasks in ''
Taskmaster Australia
''Taskmaster Australia'' is an Australian comedy panel game show first broadcast on Network 10 on 2February 2023. Based on the British show '' Taskmaster'' created by comedian Alex Horne, the program revolves around a group of five celebritiesmain ...
''.
Prior to the filming of the studio shows for the first series, a "warm-up episode" was shot with no studio audience – internally called "Episode Zero" – that allowed Wells and Williams to practice their roles, featuring some tasks that were going to be cut from the series proper. The studio shows were originally scheduled to film at
South Pacific Pictures
South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is ''Shortland Street' ...
in Auckland in late August 2020, but were later cancelled – Auckland was moved into
level 3 COVID-19 restrictions shortly beforehand – and were delayed into September. More relaxed measures were in place at time of filming, but mandated that Wells was spaced apart from the series' contestants in the studio, which Wells later remarked felt "pretty weird", and was an "unusual experience".
The second series was confirmed in March 2021, with the lineup confirmed that May.
Pre-production took four weeks at the beginning of 2021, between writers Sam Smith and Williams, before moving from a studio onto Zoom after the February Auckland lockdown was put in place. During the series, to ensure contestants were unable to decipher, and thus prepare for, what a task could be prior to filming, tasks were given nicknames should they be written on call sheets.
One task during the series was cut after Carlson broke her collarbone in an attempt to complete it.
Justine Smith, speaking of her experience filming the third series, noted that the entire process is very different to that of her other usual television appearances, and that "taking part in Taskmaster requires a different skill set"; she commented that it was "very secretive", with contestants not privy to witnessing tasks being set up and are unaware of "what's happening in advance". Smith recalled that she was "taken in – literally almost with a hood over
erhead – to a room
ou'renot allowed to leave" before "
oucome out
do the task and go straight back into
our
Our or OUR may refer to:
* The possessive form of " we"
Places
* Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany
* Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium
* Our, Jura, a commune in France
Other uses
* Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a governm ...
room"; the lack of a reaction to the performance in a task troubled Smith, who commented "
u turn around and walk away,
t beinga comedian's worst nightmare to not have someone tell you it was OK or laugh."
Coming up with tasks, writers Smith and Williams "abide by strict rules". Tasks have to be submitted to and approved by producers before being presented to contestants. One task from the first series ("Make the best desert") was almost cut from broadcast because all of the contestants misread it (as "Make the best dessert"), but Stent's reaction when she re-read the task and understood it properly – which Williams called one of "the season's best moments" – convinced the producers to retain it.
Funding
''Taskmaster New Zealand'' receives funding from NZ On Air for one season a year.
Reception
Viewership
In a press release announcing the show's recommission, it was reported that the first series increased TVNZ 2's audience by 19% among 25-54s and more than doubled the channel's audience aged 15–34, "reach
ngmore people than any other local comedy series on air in 2020".
In , the show - specifically its second series - was TVNZ2's tenth most popular show among adults aged 18–49 - the channel's
target demographic - during the latter six months of 2021. In turn, for the year to March 2023, the show's third series was TVNZ2's fifth most popular show among that audience. The fourth series was TVNZ2's second most popular show in 2023 among 18-49s.
Critical response
The first episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics. James Croot of ''
Stuff
Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to:
*Physical matter
*General, unspecific things, or entities
Arts, media, and entertainment
Books
*''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly
*''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong
Fictional c ...
'' claimed the series was "off to a terrific start" and "you might just need to put an hour aside for the next few weeks", in contrast to comments of colleague Darren Bevan, who wrote that "while Taskmaster NZ hasn't romped away with a decisive victory, it has done enough to secure a technical win and an appointment for a second week's viewing". Bevan did offer praise, towards Paul Williams' role as the assistant, calling him "one of the show's MVPs before even 30 minutes of the first episode have passed". Stewart Sowman-Lund of ''
The Spinoff
''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...
'' agreed that Williams "is well-suited to the role" of the assistant. Sowman-Lund praised the first episode stating that "Taskmaster NZ starts high in the sky – and long may it continue." Karl Puschmann, writing for ''
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand.
It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
'' did not give the show as favourable a review, stating that "it's okay. There's some good gags and it's great to see our comedians on screen. But still, it's not for me."
For the first episode of the second series, James Croot of ''Stuff'' – in contrast to his more positive comments regarding the first series – noted that, regarding the dynamic between Wells and Williams, "
e former still seems unsure of their relationship, the power dynamic less clear-cut than between the original's Greg Davies and Alex Horne", and that while some of the tasks "offer
dplenty of entertaining laughs", others were not "quite as successful". He concluded by admitting that "while ''Taskmaster NZ'' is trying to balance creating its own identity with maintaining the joy of the original, it's not always succeeding". ''The Spinoff''s Stewart Sowman-Lund was more positive, praising the entire series as "truly hilarious", and that its contestants "will surely go down in the annals of Taskmaster history as one of the best casts the show has ever seen".
Distribution
''Taskmaster New Zealand'' was made available to stream in Sweden through SVT Play in December 2022 under the local name , is able to be viewed in Norway through Discovery+ (where it is called ), and aired in the United Kingdom on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
starting 28August 2023 with episodes subsequently made available on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's streaming service by the
same name. The first four seasons are also available on the ''
Taskmaster'
YouTube channel
It is available for streaming on Taskmaster SuperMax+, a subscription streaming platform dedicated to hosting ''Taskmaster'' content able to be accessed internationally.
References
External links
''Taskmaster NZ'' at TVNZ.co.nz*
''Taskmaster NZ'' at TaskMaster.Info
{{Taskmaster
New Zealand game shows
2020 New Zealand television series debuts
New Zealand panel games
2020s New Zealand television series
Taskmaster (TV series)
New Zealand television series based on British television series
Television shows funded by NZ on Air
TVNZ 2 original programming
New Zealand English-language television shows
New Zealand comedy television series