“Every episode is funny and surprising.” Margaret Lyons, The New York Times
“…one of Great Britain’s many hidden television gems…” Lauren Coates, Vulture
New York – August 12, 2020 – Following a 2020 BAFTA win earlier this month for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme, the critically-acclaimed comedy game show Taskmaster is now available on CW’s SEED, the network’s free, ad-supported digital destination. The full 10-episode first season is available to watch now here (CWSEED.com).
The International Emmy-nominated show, considered binge-worthy by various U.S. TV journalists, stars comedian and actor Greg Davies (Cuckoo, The Inbetweeners) in the title role of the all-powerful Taskmaster, with Alex Horne (the show creator) acting as the Taskmaster’s assistant. Seasons 1-7 are also currently available to watch from home anywhere on the Taskmaster YouTube Channel, which has received over 53 million views and has 311,000 subscribers, with over 40% of watchers emanating from America. During lockdown, Horne and Davies launched #HomeTasking online involving quarantined fans, an effort that also received over 76 million impressions in 125 countries on YouTube.
The comedic and bizarre tasks – usually performed in isolation by five regular contestants (frequently comedians), but occasionally in teams – are designed to encourage the players to think laterally and creatively. The competitors in Season one include BAFTA-winning comedian Iain Stirling (voice of Love Island UK), actor and writer Joe Thomas (The Inbetweeners, Fresh Meat), acclaimed stand-up Lou Sanders (The Late Late Show with James Corden, 8 Out of 10 Cats), comedian and champion quizzer Paul Sinha (The Chase, Tonight At The Palladium), and BAFTA-winning actor Sian Gibson (Peter Kay’s Car Share, Murder On the Blackpool Express). The first episode of Season 1 was directed by Andy Devonshire and includes themes with baby monitors, powerful smells and seductive dummies.
A hit internationally, 74 episodes of Taskmaster have been produced in the UK so far, with a further 60 ordered by the prestigious Channel 4 as part of a landmark six season deal in 2020. Season 10 – 15 will be aired on Channel 4 from Autumn, 2020. The original Taskmaster programme and format combined has been sold into 106 countries, with 140 episodes of the format being made outside the UK including local versions of the show produced in Belgium, Spain, Denmark, and New Zealand
Taskmaster is produced by Avalon (“Breeders,” “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay,” “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” “Catastrophe”), with executive producers Alex Horne, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, James Taylor, Jon Thoday and Andy Devonshire, (who also serves as the series’ director), with Hilary Rosen for UKTV.
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What The US Press Said About Taskmaster:
“Every episode is funny and surprising. This is the show I have recommended most often and most insistently to my friends and family during quar.” / “widely entertaining series…It’s a clever take on the classic British panel show format that doubles as a devious way to torture its celebrity guests — with hilarious, and occasionally genius, results.”
Margaret Lyons, The New York Times
Lauren Messman, The New York Times
“This English import brings a bit of refinement – at least by American standards …A healthy dose of degradation, both subtle and elegant. Who better to offer a contest built on domination and humiliation than our friends from across the pond.”
Bill Keveney, USA Today
“…there’s never been a better time for Taskmaster, one of Great Britain’s many hidden television gems, to finally make its way to the United States …The only way to truly understand its magic is by checking it out for yourself.”
Lauren Coates, Vulture
“…one of 51 best TV shows to binge while self-quarantining…”
Whitney Friedlander, LA Times
“…you’re going to need to tune in…Prepare yourselves for the giggle of a lifetime… if you haven’t yet set your eyes upon this feast of comedy, you are in for a treat.”
Lauren Piester, E!
“the show shines in the tasks themselves, which can best be described as finely-tuned improv designed to put the comedians up a creek without a paddle.”
Jeremy Fuster, TheWrap
“…you may not get all the parochial in-jokes, but there’s a universal appeal in watching clowns happily make fools of themselves.”
TV Guide Magazine
“File this under guilty pleasures…and there’s universal appeal in watching clowns happily make fools of themselves.”
Matt Roush, TV Insider
“Taskmaster: the Cult British Comedy Show Coming to Save America. This is no exaggeration. British comedy show Taskmaster is airing in the US for the first time and, just as it has in the UK, it will make Americans’ lives better.”
Louisa Mellor, Den of Geek
“Host Greg Davies makes Simon Cowell look like Mr. Sunshine.”
Neal Justin, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Taskmaster is just damned funny, from beginning to end. Davies is the perfect a-hole in the taskmaster role, and we love how Horne has made himself the show’s lackey…we wonder why it hasn’t come to the US sooner.”
Joel Keller, The Decider
“…there is perhaps no better show for American audiences to discover right now…Every episode is funny and silly and exciting”
Lea Palmieri, The Decider
“Taskmaster is a great series if you’re a fan of dry, British humour, and is hilarious regardless of whether contestants dither about or throw themselves in with gusto”
Amanda Yeo, Mashable
“…totally bizarre, utterly hilarious.”
Scott D.Pierce, Salt Lake Tribune
“‘Taskmaster,’ the U.K.’s Least Fair, Most Hilarious Game Show…we’re finally getting a proper airing of this TV import in the States.”
Ryan Berenz, Channel Guide Magazine
“…uniquely hilarious.”
Brent Furdyk, ET Canada
“The key to the show’s success is the relaxed, chatty atmosphere that’s created in the studio juxtaposed with the arch hilarity of the filmed challenges.”
Daniel Cooper, Engadget
“(one of the) Best British Comedy Shows of The Past Decade.”
Sam Hutchinson, SCREENRANT
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Media Contacts
Avalon: pressoffice@avalonuk.com
The Lippin Group for Avalon:
Jeanne O’Keefe / JOKeefe@lippingroup.com
George Cabico / GCabico@lippingroup.com
Pam Golum / PGolum@lippingroup.com
