[Monday 5th March 2018]: Spain will join the USA and an increasing number of other countries in having its own version of Alex Horne’s Broadcast Award winning, Emmy, BAFTA and Royal Television Society award nominated comedy game show Taskmaster, after Avalon licensed the hit format to local production company Secuoya Contenidos.
Secuoya is in production on an eight episode series order from public-service broadcaster, TVE. The debut series (8×60’), titled Dicho y Hecho, is due to air on TVE’s La 1 channel in a prime time slot with the well-known actress and comedian Anabel Alonoso as the all-powerful Taskmaster.
Announcing the deal, Isobel Hughes, Director of Distribution at Avalon, said: “Taskmaster continues to find new audiences around the world. The format lends itself perfectly to international adaptation with its mix of comedy, competition and plethora of creative challenges. We are delighted Spain is the latest country to make its own version of the show.”
Eduardo Escorial, Director of Content at Secuoya Contenidos said: “We are delighted to bring such a brilliant and prestigious show to Spain. It’s not easy to find formats that resound globally and I’m sure Taskmaster has all the ingredients to make it a hit in our country.”
Taskmaster, originally created by Alex Horne and produced and distributed by Avalon. The all-powerful “Taskmaster”, with the help of his loyal assistant, sets out to test the wiles, wit and wisdom of five hyper competitive comedians through a series of strange and surreal challenges. With the chance to be crowned show champion, rivalry is encouraged, dodgy tactics rewarded and bribes accepted in what is the most hard-fought and ridiculous comedy entertainment formats on TV.
Most recently, UKTV confirmed an unprecedented four series commission of the hit show following UKTV’s commission of a two-part special Taskmaster: Champion of Champions (which was one of Dave’s highest rating programmes with a consolidated audience of over 900k), confirming there will be a sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth series of the entertainment programme in the UK. This month also saw Taskmaster named as the Best Entertainment Programme at the 2018 Broadcast Awards (sharing the category with Strictly Come Dancing, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Love Island, The Voice UK, and All Round To Mrs. Brown’s). The show has also received nominations at the BAFTAs, International Emmys as well as the RTS and the upcoming 2018 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.
Internationally, Taskmaster has been remade locally for Comedy Central in the U.S., TV 2 in Denmark, VTM in Belgium and for two series on Sweden’s SVT channel. The format is also in development in five additional territories while the finished programme has been sold to New Zealand’s TVNZ and UKTV in Australia.
Taskmaster is one of a number of titles Avalon will be taking to MIPTV this year. Other finished programmes and formats available to buyers include new documentary series Countdown to Disaster; primetime BBC game show format The Button; factual series Murderer Next Door and global award-winning comedy Catastrophe.
Executive producers for the original UK series are Alex Horne, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, James Taylor, Jon Thoday, and Andy Devonshire (The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off), who also acts as series director, and Hilary Rosen for UKTV. Andy Cartwright is series producer.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Florrie Sheehan at Avalon – Fsheehan@avalon-entertainment.com
Notes to Editors:
What the press has said about Taskmaster:
“Funny, revealing, and glorious…Caitlin Moran once wrote that the comedy panel game is one of the glories of British TV. A new one shone bright last night”
★★★★★ Andrew Billen, The Times
“The kind of Dave thing that shouldn’t quite work but is actually wildly stupid fun. Mainly thanks to Alex Horne, late of so much splendid radio, and Greg Davies…a winner”
Euan Ferguson, The Observer
“Greg Davies returns with the comedy game show that offers uncomplicated enjoyment of the kind you only get from seeing a top comedian try to roll three big inflatable balls up a hill in a strong breeze”
David Butcher, Radio Times
“Splendidly silly”
The Sunday Times
“The keynote themes are ludicrous absurdity and moderately cruel sadism. Somehow, however, it all works brilliantly, with the presence of Horne adding the barest modicum of civility to proceedings…prepare for tears of laughter”
Mark Wareham, The Mail on Sunday
About Avalon:
Avalon is a multi-award winning talent management, live promotion and television production group with offices in the UK and the USA.
Avalon and ARG, the talent management arm has discovered and represents many artists which are household names, both in the UK, the USA, and around the world.
In 2017 Avalon was named the number one true independent television production company in the UK and has produced numerous ground-breaking television shows including: Emmy and Peabody award winner Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), multi-award winning and Emmy-nominated Catastrophe (Channel 4/Amazon Prime), RTS and Rose d’Or winning Not Going Out (the BBC’s longest running sitcom currently on air), BAFTA and RTS-nominated Taskmaster (DAVE/UKTV), multi-BAFTA award winning TV Burp (ITV1), Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC2), Fantasy Football League (BBC/ITV) and Workaholics (Comedy Central USA).
Avalon and Topical Television form the television arm of the company and other shows currently in production include: Taskmaster USA (Comedy Central), Man Down (C4), Dave Gorman’s Modern Life is Goodish (Dave/UKTV), The Chris Ramsey Show (Comedy Central), and Stand Up Central with Chris Ramsey (Comedy Central); whilst the catalogue is sold worldwide by Avalon Distribution.
Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show; Jerry Springer: The Opera, the first West End show to win all four UK ‘Best New Musical’ awards; and has continued to produce live shows globally, as well as promoting more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company.
For Avalon news visit: www.avalon-entertainment.com or @avalonent.
