Taskmaster Australia is an Australian comedy panel game show first broadcast on Network 10 on 2February 2023.[3] 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".[4]
The show's first season was broadcast in early 2023, and the second and third seasons aired in 2024.[5][6][7] Season four was filmed in late 2024 and premiered on 27March 2025.[8] Season five was filmed in March 2025 and a sixth season has been confirmed.[9]
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.
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.[10] 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.[1][11][12] 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[13] Boutique Venue[14] on Croft Lane, Riverhead, New Zealand that Taskmaster NZ uses.[15] 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.[16]
Filming for the studio shows took place in December 2022 at the NEP Studios in Eveleigh, Sydney, New South Wales.[15][17][18] 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".[16]
Tasks for the series were written by a team,[2] which includes Sam Smith (who also writes tasks for the New Zealand version),[19] alongside Cashman,[20] with development assisted by show producer Cam Bakker, and, as with all the international adaptations, sent to show creator Alex Horne for final approval.[16] Executive producer Sarah Thornton remarked that the aim is to bring in new writers each series to "keep it fresh".[2]
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.[6][7]
Originally filmed as the third series, the second series consists of ten episodes and was broadcast on Network 10 starting on 23 May 2024.[6] 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.[38]
Originally filmed as the second series, the third series aired following the conclusion of the second series.[7] It began airing on Network10 starting on 24September 2024.[49] 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".
The studio elements of the fifth series were recorded at NEP studios Sydney from 17 to 21 March 2025.[71] The contestants featured this season are Anisa Nandaula, Brett Blake, Celia Pacquola, Joel Creasey and Rove McManus.[72]
Notes
^ On 28 January 2024, OzTAM's ratings data recording system changed. Viewership data will now focus on National Reach and National Total ratings instead of providing data on the 5 metro centres and overnight shares.
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.[73]
^"Tom Gleeson - Out of Touch". Home of the Arts. Retrieved 12 August 2025. Given his natural disdain for the public, Tom couldn't resist the chance to apply it to his fellow comedians as the host of Network Ten's sixth season of Taskmaster Australia.
