‘Taskmaster’ Lands 6 Season Renewal & A Junior Spin-Off Series
‘Taskmaster‘, which returns later this month for Season 15, is going to be around for at least three more years, as Channel 4 announces the much-beloved game show has not only been renewed for 6 more seasons, but will also be joined by ‘Junior Taskmaster’.
The series sees Greg Davies as the incomparable and all-powerful Taskmaster, alongside series creator, loyal lickspittle and tiny administrative wonk, Alex Horne, scoring the efforts of five top comedians as they tackle perplexing and extraordinary challenges in the name of critically acclaimed entertainment.
The PG and “Bleeped” (family-friendly) versions of the BAFTA and twice National Comedy Award-winning show have seen continual growth in popularity with younger viewers, parents and family audiences generally, while an increasing number of schools across the UK have also been taking ‘Taskmaster’ into the classroom, either informally, or now via School Tasking, the not-for-profit primary school outreach project, and Taskmaster Education, which recently partnered with children’s mental health charity Place2Be.
The brand-new eight-part series, ‘Junior Taskmaster’ will see young people aged 9 to 11 bring their fledgling wiles, athleticism and creativity to the game that recognises genius at any age. However, it seems the junior version of the series will not be hosted by Davies and Horne, as they explain below.
“I’ve watched many, many comedians flounder when given simple instructions over the past few years and I fully expect the competitors in Junior Taskmaster to be both more competent and just as funny,” said Alex Horne, the show’s creator. “For that series, I will be handing over my assistant’s clipboard to someone equally as efficient and persistent as myself because I have a lot more admin to do with six further handfuls of supposedly talented adults. I live for bureaucracy so this is all excellent news”.
For Davies, it is less about the amount of work, and more to do with his loathing of tiny annoying humans, which, given he is an ex-teacher, is quite understandable…
“My long-term contempt for young people is a matter of record but other people here at Taskmaster HQ seem convinced that they have merit,” said Davies. “I am thrilled that two new team members are putting this questionable hypothesis to the test and will take on the challenge of corralling and assessing them on television. I will be watching closely to ensure standards are met. I am also delighted that Alex and I return to test the intelligence of comedians in the most scientific of ways. I’ll be pretty angry. It’s not even an act anymore.”
‘Taskmaster’ is already watched by a broad multi-generational audience and in terms of profile was Channel 4’s youngest skewing series last year. In terms of audience share of young viewers (16-34) it is in the top three in the coveted 9pm slot, with Gogglebox and Derry Girls. Taskmaster is also hugely popular on All 4, where it is available for free and, since 2021, the average views per episode [0-7Days, O+O] have grown for the title with each series.
“Taskmaster is the funniest, most creative show on TV and we’re so excited not only to have three more years of Greg and Alex on the brilliant original but also to expand Taskmaster,” comments Tom Beck, Head of Events for Channel 4. “Junior Taskmaster is set to be hugely entertaining family-friendly treat with as much madcap nonsense as the main series and, who knows, it might unearth the comedy stars of tomorrow”.
‘Taskmaster’ is produced by Avalon and Executive Producers for the series are Alex Horne, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, James Taylor, Jon Thoday and Andy Devonshire who also acts as Series Director, while Andy Cartwright will also continue as Series Producer. Taskmaster is commissioned for Channel 4 by Tom Beck, Head of Live Events and Commissioning Editor, Entertainment, with Phil Harris, Head of Entertainment and Events.
‘Taskmaster‘ Season 15 is set to premiere Thursday, 30th March 2023 at 9pm on Channel 4.
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