Taskmaster (New Zealand TV series)

Taskmaster NZ is a New Zealand comedy panel game show, first broadcast in 2020. The format for the show was created by British comedian Alex Horne during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010, and was subsequently developed into a successful UK television show in 2015. The New Zealand adaptation is produced for TVNZ, with support from NZ On Air. Taskmaster NZ is hosted by Jeremy Wells with comedian Paul Williams as his assistant.[1] [2]

For the original UK series, see Taskmaster (TV series). For other uses, see Taskmaster.

Taskmaster NZ
GenreComedy, panel game
Created byAlex Horne
Written byJoseph Moore
Presented byJeremy Wells
StarringPaul Williams (assistant)
Theme music composerThe Horne Section
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Bronwyn Bakker
  • Cameron Bakker
  • Richard Allen-Turner
  • James Taylor
  • Jon Thoday
  • Rob Aslett
  • Andy Devonshire
  • Alex Horne
Editors
  • Ben Winter
  • Luke Earl
Running time60 minutes (including adverts)
Release
Original networkTVNZ
Original release21 October 2020 (2020-10-21) –
present
Chronology
Related showsTaskmaster (British TV series)
External links
Website

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.

Episodes

Series 1

The filming of the tasks was completed in March 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic caused a nationwide lockdown.[3]

The contestants for series one were Angella Dravid, Brynley Stent, Guy Williams, Leigh Hart and Madeleine Sami, with Angella Dravid being the overall winner.[4]

No.TitleWinnerOriginal air dateViewership[5]
1"Gluten Free"Brynley Stent21 October 2020 (2020-10-21)N/A
2"A Political Hotcake"Madeleine Sami28 October 2020 (2020-10-28)134,100
3"D.A.P."Brynley Stent4 November 2020 (2020-11-04)N/A
4"I'm Queer, I'm Here"Guy Williams11 November 2020 (2020-11-11)N/A
5"Unhealth Must Be Dead"Brynley Stent18 November 2020 (2020-11-18)N/A
6"The Problem Is Me"Angella Dravid25 November 2020 (2020-11-25)N/A
7"An Intervention"Leigh Hart2 December 2020 (2020-12-02)N/A
8"Sweaty Socks and Depression"Angella Dravid9 December 2020 (2020-12-09)108,100
9"Astro Blasters"Leigh Hart16 December 2020 (2020-12-16)106,400
10"My Uncle John"Madeleine Sami23 December 2020 (2020-12-23)N/A

Reception

The first episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Darren Bevan of Stuff 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." Furthermore, Bevan praised Paul Williams as the assistant, calling him "one of the show’s MVPs before even 30 minutes of the first episode have passed."[6] Stewart Sowman-Lund of The Spinoff 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."[7] Karl Puschmann, writing for The New Zealand Herald 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."[8]

References
  1. "Taskmaster NZ". TVNZ.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  2. Michael Craig (27 September 2020). "Taskmaster NZ: Team revealed as shows release date nears". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  3. Chris Schulz (27 September 2020). "Taskmaster NZ team revealed, show finally ready to go after coronavirus delays". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  4. "Taskmaster NZ reveals Kiwi comedian all-star lineup". tvnz.co.nz. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  5. "Imgur - Taskmaster NZ overnight ratings, including +1". Imgur. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  6. Darren Bevan (22 October 2020). "Taskmaster NZ: Does it live up to the hype of my favourite show or ruin it forever?". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  7. Stewart Sowman-Lun (21 October 2020). "Taskmaster NZ proves we can do panel comedy as well as the Brits". thespinoff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  8. Karl Puschmann (30 October 2020). "Karl Puschmann: Is Taskmaster NZ up to the task?". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
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