Taskmaster Australia (2023)

Taskmaster Australia is an Australian comedy panel game show first broadcast on Network 10 on 2 February 2023. Based on the British show Taskmaster created by comedian Alex Horne, the program revolves around a group of five celebrities – mainly comedians – attempting to complete a series of challenges, judged by the "Taskmaster", Tom Gleeson, and accompanied by his assistant, comedian Tom Cashman, frequently referred to as "Lesser Tom".

The show's first season was broadcast in early 2023, and the second and third seasons aired in 2024. Season four was filmed in late 2024 and premiered on 27 March 2025. Season five aired in 2026, and a sixth season has been confirmed to premiere in 2027.

Format

Taskmaster is a comedic panel show where 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

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 2015. Confirmation of an Australian version was announced in October 2022, to be produced by Avalon Television (the British production company) with New Zealand-based Kevin & Co. for Network 10. This is the first Kevin & Co. production outside New Zealand.

The pre-recorded tasks were filmed in the same house and grounds, Jennie Hu's Boutique Venue on Croft Lane, Riverhead, New Zealand that Taskmaster NZ uses. 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.

Filming for the studio shows took place in December 2022 at the NEP Studios in Eveleigh, Sydney, New South Wales. 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".

Tasks for the series were written by a team, which includes Sam Smith (who also writes tasks for the New Zealand version), alongside Cashman, with development assisted by show producer Cam Bakker, and, as with all the international adaptations, sent to show creator Alex Horne for final approval. Executive producer Sarah Thornton remarked that the aim is to bring in new writers each series to "keep it fresh".

In July 2023, a second series began filming in Melbourne, Victoria for a 2024 airdate. The cast was revealed on 10 July 2023 as Peter Helliar, Mel Buttle, Aaron Chen, Concetta Caristo, and Rhys Nicholson.

Studio filming for a third series took place in the week beginning 18 March 2024. The cast was confirmed as Anne Edmonds, Jenny Tian, Josh Thomas, Lloyd Langford and Wil Anderson on 21 March 2024.

In May 2024, it was announced that the third filmed series would instead air as season two in mid-2024, and the second filmed series would air in late 2024.

Episodes

Series 1 (2023)

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

For team tasks in this series, the team of three was made up of Rees, McGregor and Oyama, with the team of two consisting of Walker and Morris.

Walker was the winner of the series, with Morris as runner-up, Rees in 3rd, Oyama in 4th, and McGregor in 5th.

The following year, series 1 episodes were made available on the official Taskmaster YouTube channel.

Series 2 (2024)

Originally filmed as the third series, the second series consists of ten episodes and was broadcast on Network 10 starting on 23 May 2024. In order of placement, the contestants were Anne Edmonds, Jenny Tian, Josh Thomas, Lloyd Langford and Wil Anderson.

For team tasks in this series, the team of three was made up of Tian, Langford and Anderson, with the team of two consisting of Edmonds and Thomas.

Langford was the winner of the series after a tie-breaker, with Edmonds as runner-up, Anderson in 3rd, Tian in 4th, and Thomas in 5th.

Series 2 episodes were released weekly on the official Taskmaster YouTube channel.

Series 3 (2024)

Originally filmed as the second series, the third series aired following the conclusion of the second series. It began airing on Network 10 starting on 24 September 2024. The contestants featured this season are Aaron Chen, Concetta Caristo, Mel Buttle, Peter Helliar and Rhys Nicholson.

For team tasks in this series, the team of three was made up of Chen, Helliar and Nicholson, with the team of two consisting of Caristo and Buttle.

Chen was the winner of the series, with Caristo and Helliar as joint runners-up, Nicholson in 4th, and Buttle in 5th.

Season 2 participant Lloyd Langford, celebrity actor Cate Blanchett, and format creator and original Taskmaster assistant Alex Horne each appeared in pre-filmed tasks in the ninth episode, in which the contestants presented the "Most Heavenly Voice".

Series 4 (2025)

The studio elements of the fourth series were recorded at NEP studios Sydney from 16 to 20 September 2024. Episodes began airing on 27 March 2025. The contestants featured this season are Dave Hughes, Emma Holland, Lisa McCune, Takashi Wakasugi, and Tommy Little.

For team tasks in this series, the team of three was made up of Holland, Wakasugi and Little, with the team of two consisting of Hughes and McCune.

Holland was the winner of the series, with Wakasugi as runner-up, Little in 3rd, McCune in 4th, and Hughes in 5th.

Series 5 (2026)

The studio elements of the fifth series were recorded at NEP studios Sydney from 17 to 21 March 2025. Episodes began airing on 7 May 2026. The contestants featured this series are Anisa Nandaula, Brett Blake, Celia Pacquola, Joel Creasey and Rove McManus.

Taskmaster NZ assistant Paul Williams appeared as Over the dog in a task in Episode 3. Original Taskmaster assistant and format creator Alex Horne featured as a commentator in an Episode 8’s horse racing task.

For team tasks in this series, the team of three was made up of Blake, Pacquola and Creasey, with the team of two consisting of Nandaula and McManus.

McManus was the winner of the series, with Blake as runner-up, Pacquola in 3rd, Nandaula in 4th, and Creasey in 5th.

Series 6 (2027)

The studio elements of the sixth series were recorded at NEP studios Sydney from 13 to 17 October 2025. The contestants featured this series are Charlie Pickering, Frankie McNair, Shane Jacobson, Tom Walker and Urzila Carlson.

Notes

Reception

Critical reception

Reviewing the first season, 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.

See also

List of Australian television series

References

External links

Official website

Taskmaster Australia at IMDb

Taskmaster Australia at TaskMaster.Info

Interview with Tom Cashman and Nina Oyama in The Sydney Morning Herald