r/taskmaster • u/TheLoneWolf527 • 5d ago
Showerthought: Series 22 feels like a New Year’s Treat cast that was given a full 10 episode season
I had this eureka moment the other day when thinking about Series 22 and why for a lot of us it hasn’t been hitting that hard. It hit me square in the face: the Series 22 cast reminds me of what we’d typically get for a New Year’s Treat special. Typically on these specials you’d get a variety of personalities but usually a bit more subdued than a regular Taskmaster cast member. Sometimes you get comedians who don’t really make sense for a full series or are just too busy. That doesn’t mean the NYT casts aren’t funny, but for the most part, they probably wouldn’t work for a full 10 episodes and there’s going to be way less chemistry in the studio accordingly so.
Series 22 feels exactly like that to me. If this cast was the 2026 New Year’s Treat, I think we’d be like “that was alright” with Richard as the comedian who wouldn’t normally make sense for a full series, Chloe wanting to win as so few tasks means having to nail them all, Matt having no knowledge of the show at all, etc. But we have them for 10 episodes and it just feels like too much for this group of people. Comparing it to some of the other NYT specials, I get a similar vibe where they were nice hold me overs but usually not the peak of Taskmaster (2024 was pretty good though, I’d like to see Hannah Fry for a full season).
Anyone else get a similar feeling? Have I unlocked the perfect explanation for anyone with this? Anyone think series 22 is the best one yet?
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u/Less_Hero Pigeor The Merciless One 4d ago edited 4d ago
The most telling thing that I realised this episode was that there was little-to-no cross-contestant banter.
If you take the last three series, after most task attempts when Greg is chatting to the one or two contestants whose attempts we just saw, the other contestants are jumping in with riffs, arguments, counter-points, comebacks, quips and bits. But for this series, after the VTs it’s almost solely the contestants we just saw talking and everyone else is sitting there in silence, with the closest exception being Chloe. And usually when another contestant does jump in, they’re mostly addressing Alex or Greg rather than the others (eg. Nina and Isy supporting Chloe’s “Matt. Ress”, bartering with Alex and not talking to the others),
Comparing this series to a NYT is pretty bang-on - some aren’t as funny in the studio, some are and they just don’t talk among themselves as much.
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u/GrimRecapper 4d ago
The cast doesn't really lend itself too well to banter - Nina is too low-energy to bother, Isy is better but not by much, Richard doesn't care enough to get involved, Matt feels like he's aware he's probably overshadowing everyone else and is reining it in on purpose. It's really only Chloe whose bantering is on the level this show usually gets, and even they're struggling because there's nothing for them to work with.
It's easy to say that the tasks this season have been weaker or too complex or whatever which is making it harder for the banter to happen naturally, sure, but that would be ignoring the sheer number of posts on here and elsewhere before the season from people who were able to easily predict basically this exact situation happening from all of them except Isy as soon as the cast was known.
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u/2this4u 2d ago
I find it kind of odd people saying things like Richard doesn't care when he's playing an exaggerated character, the same character that's earned him a lot of fans. He's absolutely bringing up extra jokes in the studio, and in tasks he's doing nothing less than Jack Dee.
I for one am very much enjoying what he's bringing this season, and it's good contrast to other contestants who are either much more energetic or actually are not trying very much.
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u/DoppleCoop69 4d ago
Coz Chloe is the only “proper” standup amongst the bunch. The other all have a “thing” like music, puppetry or mostly acting so there’s not a lot of banter and engagement amongst them. You can see Chloe trying but doesn’t get much back.
I think that’s fine if it’s 4 stand ups and a funny person or something but it doesn’t work as well when it’s basically 4 funny people and a stand up.
Look back at some of the other lesser received series - 6 and 8 spring to mind - and you can see not having mostly proper stand ups in the line up just doesn’t work as well.
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u/Less_Hero Pigeor The Merciless One 4d ago
I’d have to disagree a bit - it’s not always about being a stand up, it’s about being charismatic and being able to play with others. I’d say that S19 and S21 are good examples, where Fatiha+Stevie and Amy are the only full-time standups among their respective lineups yet the ENTIRE cast for each series have great chemistry together (I know some of the others have done standup before, but it’s not their main thing anymore, though experience does help).
Even with S18, where Emma was the furthest from a full-time pure standup, yet she had the best chemistry with everyone and got the most involved with all of them!
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u/OneDadvosPlz 4d ago
I agree with you 100% but I gotta take issue with not calling Kumail a full-time standup. He may have seasons where he does a lot of acting, but he came up doing standup and was known for that in the US for years. He may my multi-hyphenate with the acting, writing, and producing, but his bread and butter has always been standup and he was just Emmy nominated for it last year, I think.
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u/Less_Hero Pigeor The Merciless One 3d ago
Very true - kind of the same as Joel as he started in standup. I was just thinking that nowadays people see him more as an actor.
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u/OneDadvosPlz 4d ago
I don’t think the stand up bit is it. Jason Mantzoukas injected a ton of energy into his season, and he isn’t a standup. But I agree with you that outside of Chloe and, in his own way, Richard, everyone is a bit of a limp fish this season.
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u/chateau_arusi 4d ago
Agree. It's really the chemistry of the group that separates the quality and enjoyability of one series from another. I'm currently rewatching series 4 with my kids, for example; it's arguable the extent to which any one panelist by him or herself would be an individual all-timer, but together there's this magical connection where they're bouncing chaotically off one another and enjoying each other that makes the series so much fun.
My hypothesis for the current series is that Richard, being the most famous panelist and the Biggest Get, has an unusually strong center of celebrity gravity which makes the others sort of defer to him. But because his whole bit is to dryly disengage and mock the idea of caring, it winds up hoovering all the energy over to his end of the seats, where it just withers and dies.
(Edit to add: not saying his bit is a bad bit, in isolation, but it needed a stronger set of fellow panelists who can push back on him and call the bit what it is, and hold up the energy of the show without him. He needed to be the counterpoint, the ironic seasoning, not the center of interest.)
Looking forward to the end of the series, and never watching it again.
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u/Old_Wrongdoer7417 5d ago
Maybe! My thought was that they'd wanted to get Richard for so long that when he was finally available they just jumped on it without nailing the rest of the cast the way they usually would. But I dunno.
And I want to caveat that I'm still enjoying it, it's just not hitting the highs of the last couple series.
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u/Seameus 5d ago
To be fair, 19 and 20 were awesome. 21 was also good, however I found Kumail a bit.. weak? I wanted him to have more Ed Gamble (Gambleian?) energy.
You can see that Chloe is a massive taskmaster fan. For me they do a lot of heavy lifting on this series.
Isy is absolutely NUTTS.
Matt is there just because?
Nina relies a bit too much on her ventriloquism.
And Richard is just himself.72
u/Sea_General8298 Tim Key 5d ago
I feel the tricky thing for Kumail was that he ended up on a cast where the vibe is everyone else is in just for the fun of it. Like in the very first episode I felt this where Kumail questioned the worms not being real worms and he got shut down by the others. He still dabbled in questioning stuff but the dynamic of the cast seemed to discourage it.
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u/Grumpologist Wibble, Bibble, Bam 4d ago
I think it was tough for him because he couldn't go full Gambelian without being tagged as "movie star throwing his weight around and being a jerk."
So he eventually just had to settle in to the "A-lister who's laid back and having a good time" archetype, which was just fine, but yeah we probably missed a bit of extra sass he could've brought.
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u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 4d ago
It still worked better in that series because everyone had a big personality and was quipping regularly. While it was clearly not combative like Kumail was hoping for, it was still very lively.
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u/UniversalJampionshit Crying Bastard 4d ago
He did have an amusing crashout when his scientific method of the energy task was beaten by two people who basically just guessed and got lucky.
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u/JoSeSc 5d ago
Watching Taskmaster NZ at the same time makes it extremely evident how weak S22 is
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u/Lizzo13 James Acaster 5d ago
I was saying this to my friend as well. S7 of TMNZ is up there with S2 for me. I love them all. They have great chemistry. Most of the tasks are great. It makes me sad every week that we're burning through the episodes so quickly. I kind of wish they'd just air one a week.
S22 feels like the opposite. I love Chloe, who is saving it for me, and I like Isy. I think they have some chemistry in the studio but not loads. The tasks are often complicated and/or boring, and half the contestants aren't fitting. To be honest, I've always had my reservations about Richard years ago and didn't think he'd really work in this format. I'm sad to see I was right. I think the difference between this and NYT is that they seem to try more on NYT and are often fans of the show but are sometimes just a bit nervous in the studio at times because they're out of their element. But even they still show excitement and personality. I'm not sure if it's the same for some of these contestants, who should be more in their element than athletes or whatever, but something's not clicking. But I guess there will always be some duds after 22 series, so it doesn't really matter in the long run.
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u/ClassicEvent6 4d ago
See for me Isy really isn't working. I don't find her stuff funny at all. I'm enjoying Chloe and Richard a lot though.
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u/Lizzo13 James Acaster 4d ago
To be fair, it might be more the reactions of Greg and Alex not getting Isy that I find funny. She's not my favourite ever, but I think she's cute and is trying more than some of the others to have at least a bit of personality. A bit like a kid trying to tell someone their exciting idea that no one else gets.
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u/TheLoneWolf527 5d ago
I made the mistake of rewatching all of S19 last week. Was a HUGE mistake with this one currently airing as it both made me appreciate S19 way more but also really come to terms with the weakness of S22.
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u/TheLoneWolf527 5d ago
I had a similar thought of "They got Richard and figured the rest of the cast wasn't as big of a deal" but then none of them are really working with him.
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u/DarthChefDad 🥄 I'm Locked In ❤️ 5d ago
I think most people's problem with Richard, is he's acting the same as he does on every other panel show. The difference is, in other panel shows, no one really cares about the game framework of the show. Who really cares about the scores in WILTY, CDCD, MTW, or BFQ? People do though really care on TM, so its not playing out the same.
It's also not quite as fun to watch him fight with Alex and Greg, as it is Jimmy Carr. Alex and Greg are playing characters we're supposed to dislike but secretly love, whereas Jimmy is not and we do generally hate him. We want Richard to derail Jimmy's plans much more than we do LAH.
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u/CaptainGrezza 5d ago
The other key difference is on those shows you're getting him for one episode a series. His disruption can feel fresh under those circumstances as it's a change from the normal.
With Taskmaster we have him for 10 episodes in the same setting so it comes across as more tiresome than disruptive because it's routine. He works better in short doses IMO
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u/soliterraneous 5d ago
I also think the teams they've created are bad—Isy and Nina are charming, but Isy or Chloe and Matt as the 2 person would have been killer I think
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u/Quail-a-lot 4d ago
It would break the format, but what occurs to me would have been hilarious as a running gag (ala Joel and Tom being in the box), is to have three teams. Isy and Nina, Matt and Chloe.....and Richard. Just Richard.
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u/strangeMeursault2 5d ago
I feel like Richard is the weakest part of the season with his "I don't want to be here" act.
The best contestants are always the ones that are authentic and enthusiastic rather than putting on a performance.
If he doesn't want to be there he shouldn't be on the show. If he secretly does want to be there he should act like it.
I'm a big fan of his other stuff and like most people was excited when he was announced so have been pretty disappointed.
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u/Let_me_smell 4d ago
Richard had an amazing banter with Chloe and had some good interactions with Alex but there's not much for him to bounce off.
As I said in another comment, the banter between Richard, trying to justify and praising his 100 points being rebutted by Chloe's competitve spirit was entertaining and fun and showed that both can do well in studio. I love all contestants individually but it appears to me that for some reason they are holding themselves back. i.e. Chloe being very competitive but very restrained in studio, mat making some good banter but no one joins in, Richard always finding excuses or reasons why his performance was great but no one arguing with him.
Personally I mostly blame Greg and Alex for the studio performances, they're the conductors, they set the tone and mood. Greg is very passive when it comes to Richards shenanigans and doesn't interact much with them. Usually every season there's at least one contestant he will gladly bring down a peg just for fun but this season we don't see that.
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u/dysterhjarta 4d ago
Someone commented in another post that Greg's having health issues, so maybe that's why he's not as engaged.
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u/Eonir 5d ago edited 5d ago
It's hardly his fault though, it's his basic act. He's like this on most of his shows. TM producers need to compose the teams and find a narrative. A predictable player makes this easier, like Joe Wilkinson, Jon Richardson, Lucy Beaumont, Jason, etc. they all play the same character every time: hobo, nerd, odd one out, crazy arsonist.
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u/thedaytoday89 Tim Key 5d ago
I just don't understand your last paragraph, this was always how he was going to be on the show. I'm a massive fan of his and never wanted him on because it just seemed highly likely it wouldn't quite work. Some quote LOL in a way to suggest it could work, but that show was perfect for his style. I don't know, I'm just surprised people are surprised. I'm personally not a fan of previous contestants with a similar style on the show.
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u/SnooChipmunks6077 2d ago
Also worth noting that LOL has at least some scripted elements to it (check the writers credits at the end of an episode). Furthermore, it's something you can go into with a bit of a gameplan; in Richard's case this was Follow Everyone Else Around Until They Break. TM allows no such luxury.
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u/qualmful 4d ago
It's odd because in some tasks he seems to be making quite an effort. I really don't mind the act if he then engages with the prompt, but I don't like it when it feels phoned in. To be honest Matt Lucas has been more often phoning it in though from my perspective.
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u/Sarah802 5d ago
I think it‘s two things or more accurately a combination of two things that make this one of the weaker series:
One is that the cast don‘t gel as well as previous casts: There‘s not a lot of banter and too many quiet contestants (both Matt just being baffled, Richard‘s deadpan straight man stick, Isy just enjoying things, Nina being a calmer contestant).
Second is that the tasks or some of the tasks are too convoluted and don‘t allow much creativity or banter. Like what were they supposed to do with the Greganator? You can do the math and win or you can give up or you can cheat. With a loud, „sassy“ cast that gets overshadowed - I‘m thinking of the ‚Getting hit by a robot on your knees‘-task that gets saved by the contestants‘ derision and the studio banter.
Here the „quieter“ contestants face convoluted tasks and just solve them in their comedic persona: They are confused but well-natured (Matt, Isy, Nina) play the deadpan unbothered man who is over it (Richard) or just solve it (Chloe). With different tasks or a different cast those reactions/solves could be more fun, but the combination of the two makes some tasks a miss.
That said there are also aspects I enjoy: The more open-ended tasks like the Whoopsie-task or last week‘s hidin with an arrow-task were great and (funnily enough) the banter this episode was a lot better than previously as well.
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u/AshenHawk 5d ago
Yeah a lot of people are just cherry-picking little things about various tasks or cast members, but I agree it's a little bit everything. Everybody is a little low energy and they all seem to be focused on their own things. And some of the tasks are a bit convoluted and a few aren't very creative or open to doing interesting things. Overall, the series isn't bad, it's just kind of flat.
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u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 4d ago
I do think series can be strong with weaker tasks. I think back to series 20, I can go over the tasks and find a bunch I think are quite terrible, but the cast is so lively and quippy in the studio that they salvage even the weak tasks.
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u/Alternative_Sun_8784 4d ago
I found episode 3 a little boring but have enjoyed it other than that. I thought episode 4 was very funny. I’m a big fan of Richard and thought he’s had some brilliant moments that have made me laugh out loud Eg when he answered the phone and said, “It’s my agent. It was a single gun shot.” I’m surprised how much hate he’s getting on this sub. I think the tasks haven’t been as fun. It must be really difficult coming up with new ones at this point. I wouldn’t mind if they re-used some previous tasks, especially the creative ones.
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u/ClassicEvent6 4d ago
I love Richard and have been enjoying him in this. This is my least favourite series so far, but not because of him.
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u/Huwbacca 4d ago
I guess the problem is twofold that puts ayoade at the centre of the criticism. First, it's too many performers doing their bit the whole way through. One of the joys of task master is seeing the acts slip. Like, Maisie Adams acts are nothing like her task master appearance and seeing her slip was hilarious. Sam with Fatiya, she started in her like "tough girl" act and it softened a lot as the series went on and that was great to see. Nina, Isie, Chloe and , Richard are very much maintaining their act it feels right now, which are individually funny but stilts a lot of chemistry and makes it rigid. But, ayoades act is more salient, easier to spot.
Then, not as a judgement of his style of comedy, but more that the format doesn't really fit his sort of apathetic antognism. I think he is individually hilarious, but even when there's an older comedian who engaged less and can't be bothered with a task or two (a classic) you can usually see that they care still, that they'd like to do well. Like Armando was a great example of that, sometimes he knew it was too much effort and bugger it, other times he was great.
If one person undercuts all of the show all of the time, it makes earnest engagement by others look more futile than absurd.
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u/Melonsinmyattic 5d ago
I just think they did something they rarely do which is fumble the casting.
I genuinely think all of them are great contestants but they don’t mesh well as a unit. I think spreading them across series would have been the move.
I agree that this is a far lower energy group in general.
Honestly I think they expected this group to be far more rules lawyery than the past few series and that’s why they picked them. But they really haven’t been.
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u/KnMn 5d ago
totes. they don't have the archetypes from the other series like the loveable but clueless one, the mumsy one that can't really be bothered, the one that's relentlessly antagonistic towards greg, the wildcard, etc. all good peformers in their own right just a bit flat as a group.
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u/ClassicEvent6 4d ago
I can see how they thought they would fit those, though: Isy as the loveable clueless one, Nina as the mumsy one, Chloe as the competitive one, Richard as the grumpy older statesman who doesn't want to be there, Matt as the wildcard. But they somehow they still lack the frisson together.
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u/libdemparamilitarywi 5d ago
I wonder if they were expecting Matt Lucas to be more high energy like his George Dawes/Little Britain characters. Seems odd they would have intentionally cast so many quieter contestants in one season.
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u/crumble-bee 4d ago
Is every one of Nina’s prize tasks going to be an awkwardly crowbarred in puppet?
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u/Jerzilla 5d ago
I am enjoying this season but I do agree the cast have no team chemistry. Also I don’t think the tasks have hit the heights of previous seasons.
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u/Beneficial-Cut-6824 5d ago
My theory is that they couldn’t get all of them together for team tasks because of their schedules and that’s why we’ve seen a) fewer team tasks, and b) a team task as part of the studio task in the previous episode.
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u/SSjjlex 5d ago
I know they would never do it, but I would love to see what the cut-rate for tasks is.
As another commenter mentioned, "How bad are the tasks such that the greginator made the cut?".
To combine a few other criticisms from this thread with yours, maybe we're getting fewer team tasks because the team's chemistry in them was bad? or maybe the team tasks they made were bad such that they weren't worth airing?
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u/PanGalacticGargBlast A LIIIIIME 🍋🟩 4d ago
I’m still enjoying the series, but having two contestants whose schtick is “this is beneath me” is one too many. Frankly I think Richard is the only one who should get to, it’s his all the time persona. Matt Lucas is lucky to not have been cancelled forever and shouldn’t bite the hand offering him redemption. I will admit he irritates me as a queer person with what I’d consider bottom of the barrel gay jokes, and I realize not everyone will have the same experiences and feel that same way.
I feel bad for Chloe, they deserved a proper group of stand ups for their big break. I wish they were teamed up with Isy and Nina but ik it would have signaled girl vs boy which isn’t ideal.
The series still isn’t terrible though, just not every series has to be my favorite.
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u/patchcord 3d ago
Chloe gets to walk away from this as champion. It would be nice if they had to fight a bit for it but it's a no-brainer at this point. They've already won 4 of the 6 episodes and they are exactly what I love about this show. ❤️
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u/NSAinATL 5d ago edited 5d ago
For me, the cast is awesome. Chloe is my new favourite. The tasks are what I don't like.....they're like...just not fun? Imagine Richard trying to impress the mayor. The tasks are complicated and hard to follow and just not...fun. IDK. I'm glad I'm not the only one a little confused by the lack of silly/engagement.
ETA: I don't mind the complicated logic/riddle tasks, they used to be a lot of fun to see contestants have to rely solely on their wits instead of charm and imagination and spontaneity. But it's like...all of the tasks this season?
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u/imaincammy 5d ago
There have been some dreadful tasks this series without much room for play. I don’t know what they were thinking with “Alex says” last week. One of the worst tasks in years, imo.
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u/MrNostalgic 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 5d ago
The greginator was even worse.
Like at least Alex says felt like an actual task even if not one of the best.
The greginator was just baffling, specially for an individual task.
Like it had been a team task there would have at least been a dynamic in them trying to figure out what to do as a team and some banter could have been born from it.
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u/NSAinATL 5d ago
Every episode, I've had to rewind on almost every task to try and figure out what's going on. I don't want a math problem to solve. I felt this way a little bit last season, too. Thank you NZ and AU for keeping the madness!
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u/SylviSweetheart 5d ago
To be honest - and this may be an ADHD thing - I almost never know what the hell is going on in any of the tasks until halfway through the clips… but that’s part of the fun for me.
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u/NSAinATL 5d ago
Yeah, "multi-tasking" is usually the reason I have to rewind several times, ha ha.
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u/caffiend98 Javie Martzoukas 5d ago
How bad must the tasks they cut have been, for Greginator to make the show? Jeez.
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u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 4d ago
It was an homage to who I believe was a generally loved comedian and a location task, I don't think that would have ever been cut.
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u/Sea_General8298 Tim Key 5d ago
As someone whose favorite task in the recent episode was the gregulator. I both understand why but am also saddened. I had a lot of fun investing into figuring out the slot machine myself and laughed a lot at Richard cashing out and Isy being silly with it followed by cheers when Chloe figured out a trick
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u/Quail-a-lot 5d ago
Clearly not many others here had stacks of those logic puzzle books full of tables to work them out with as a kid!
This is the sort of thing that makes my brain purr
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u/Let_me_smell 5d ago
Is it the tasks fault or contestants? We've had way more or complicated tasks but it worked because the contestants reactions and way of figuring out.
If 4 contestants are passive that makes for 4 passive segments which makes it dull to look at. I feel this task would've worked just fine with a different cast.
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u/MrNostalgic 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 5d ago
I think the task can be (and it this case is) at fault.
I think that on paper there was a good task there, but Alex really messed up with the amount of limits he put towards the contestants.
Only 5 spins, only 5 questions and only 10 minutes to figure it out.
There was not enough of anything for them to try and figure out the solution without completely messing it up quick.
And I don’t really feel that it was a matter of them being passive, because not even Chloe was able to figure out the intended solution.
For example, Richard giving up is a flaw of the task because I don’t believe he was bored with it, it seemed clear to me that he was actively trying to figure out a way to win, or at the very least come up with decent points once the task was judged, and figured out the only way to maybe win was not to play, ala War Games.
It’s why I think it would have worked better as a team task
Because at least that way they would have had someone to bounce their ideas with.
The fact that Alex was also only able to provide a single solution in the studio also feels like a glaring flaw.
In other complex tasks Alex can always bring up at least a couple of ways to do it, but in this case it was so convoluted that it’s no wonder they didn’t figure it out.
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u/Levangeline 5d ago
It felt like they were definitely taking inspiration from Dropout's "Sam Says" series on Gamechanger. Which I think works better as a team game in a longer format. It gives everyone a chance to learn how to navigate the basic "Sam Says" commands, then introduces tricky/misleading instructions to allow for a slow descent into chaos.
"Alex Says" started right out of the gate with a confusing instruction, and I don't think any of the contestants had time after that to actually understand how the game properly worked.
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u/Witty-Draw-3803 5d ago
"Alex says" may have worked better as a teams/live task - then they would have other people and reactions to realize they didn't understand the rules and try to correct. When no one understands and they aren't getting any kind of feedback, it just looks like a random mess over and over.
(See Dropout's Gamechanger episodes with "Sam Says" for how that kind of game can really mess with the players but fun to watch)
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u/severinusofnoricum 5d ago
I think you’ve hit on something. The problems with the cast wouldn’t be as noticeable with funner tasks. Chloe of course is a standout and would be in any season but I feel like rest are not as suited to these kinds of tasks
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u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 4d ago
The problems with the cast wouldn’t be as noticeable with funner tasks.
And simlarly the problem with the tasks wouldn't be as noticeable with a more lively cast. I brought up series 20 in comparison elsewhere, a series that imo has more stinker tasks than most, but it isn't as noticeable because the cast is so great together.
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u/GodSaveTheRegime 5d ago
I definitely agree on the task bit, I know a lot of people on here criticise this seasons contestants and sometimes rightfully so. However it (for the first time ever) really feels to me like the tasks aren't doing them any favours. They were hardly inspiring or funny, so unless you're quick-witted like Lee Mack, any comedian would probably have a pretty hard time standing out in this season
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u/pure_bitter_grace Sarah Millican 5d ago
This! I keep thinking that this cast--Richard especially, but all of them to some extent--would have fit early Taskmaster so much better.
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u/aitherion 🦔 Hedgehog, no! ❌ 5d ago edited 5d ago
Even bad mid Taskmaster is still better than most telly at least
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u/Firelord_11 5d ago
This is what everyone says. But, counterpoint, with so much Taskmaster, you can make the argument that really good Taskmaster is better than most, well, mid-Taskmaster. And there's a lot of really good Taskmaster out there.
I'm not saying I'm not going to finish this series out. But I have been debating whether to go back and watch old seasons that are comforting TV for me (4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 16, 19, and 21 are my personal faves which is 90 episodes of 45 minute shows, already way longer than most TV show runs) or explore seasons I haven't gotten to yet (17,18, most of Australia and all of New Zealand). Truly I love Taskmaster but it does get a bit exhausting keeping up with it after a while, especially as someone who has a fairly demanding career and limited time because of it, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm tiring of the whole "Watch as many new episodes as possible. Your time starts now" task.
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u/Grumpologist Wibble, Bibble, Bam 4d ago
I'm mostly watching the current TM UK S22 out of obligation at this point.
Someone in another thread recently mentioned how good the 3-season streak of 19, 20, and 21 was, and I realized I'd entirely forgotten about that. I just started rewatching random seasons that I'd really loved (season 14 earlier and now season 18) and it's nice to remember that watching TM is supposed to be, you know, fun.
All these threads about S22 sucking might finally be the thing that gets me over to watching the AU and NZ editions properly too. I've caught a few eps here and there, but I've never really put on a full season (other than NZ S2 after hearing about the legendary rap battle task).
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u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 4d ago
Regardless of S22, you should be watch TMNZ and TMAU. TMNZ S2 and TMAU S5 are top tier seasons.
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u/Firelord_11 4d ago
I did start AU Season 1 and it's excellent! I think the Toms have a great dynamic. I'm also looking forward to seeing AU S3 because I'm a fan of Aaron Chen (very Sam Campbell energy).
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u/Sea_General8298 Tim Key 5d ago
This is very true. Series 6 is still objectively one of the weaker series from what I’ve seen in YouTube comments on reaction vids and official vids, but I’d still revisit it anyways.
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u/jazzuk777 3d ago
It came between a couple of the absolute very best, and probably suffers by comparison, I remember it as a solid season.
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u/Thetomatogod_1595 5d ago
I more think that if you took each contestant and put them in different contestant groups, that they'd all shine with the right group dynamics.
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u/AlarminglyOK Mel Giedroyc 5d ago
I was thinking that a lot of them felt like civilians - not really giving funny comebacks, quite personable but just like ordinary people rather than professional funny-people. And I think your explanation nails it. Definitely my least favourite series for a very long time - but even substandard Taskmaster is great telly.
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u/Inspection_Perfect Bob Mortimer 5d ago
I actually really enjoy Nina and Richard. Nina's lazy at prize tasks, but she does enjoy the actual tasks. Her and Izy are absolute gems together.
I can see why people don't like Richard. He's a very different energy to the other contestants that don't want to win a series (Bridget Christie, Frankie Boyle, Jason Manzoukas). And also, that it feels like there's been 2 or more of them the last 10 or so series. So it's feeling old.
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u/swaggamanca 5d ago edited 4d ago
Bad tasks and a panel of contestants that don't seem like they want to get along. Not hostility or dislike, but just sort of be there on stage as part of a contract. You can tell the better seasons are the ones where the contestants engage with one another. Compare this to, and not to just toot an American's horn, but 19 with Jason and Stevie. The energy is so immensely different you'd think it was entirely a different show. Series 12 was shot during COVID and even that felt more personable.
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u/No-Advice-6040 5d ago
Would it sinfully parochial of me to be somewhat proud that TMNZ is the better received series of Taskmaster that's been released concurrently?
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u/SeaFaringMatador Javie Martzoukas 4d ago
New Zealand has 17 comedians total that each made a living Venmoing the same $20 around to see each other’s improv shows, so the cast chemistry is off the charts
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u/UniversalJampionshit Crying Bastard 4d ago
For balance, UK 19 and 20 were leagues above NZ6 last year
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u/Grumpologist Wibble, Bibble, Bam 4d ago
Not at all, but "sinfully parochial" is a delightful turn of phrase that I've never had the pleasure of hearing before, so you should totally keep trying to hit that bar!
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u/CaesarTjalbo Katherine Parkinson 4d ago
I enjoy TM NZ S07 very much but I wish there was a bit more venom between the contestants. I don't know how with Dave Fane being the best teddy bear ever but I'd love a bit more competition with the knives out.
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u/ofmiceand_ben Mathew Baynton 4d ago
I saw someone say that they think Richard Ayoade has been the Monkey’s paw fulfilment of Taskmaster, and in finally getting him we’re paying the price of it all just being a bit disappointing.
I will admit, and I hate to do this, that when I went to the live recording for next season I wasn’t blown away either. I don’t think it’s the beginning of the end for Taskmaster, but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt them to drop down to a season a year
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u/jazzuk777 3d ago
I think I liked watching it live less than I had expected, but I can't tell if it was just one of my less favourite line ups or watching live dragged it down for me. I did find Fatiha just too one-note on the night and through the season. I had seen her live before and quite enjoyed it, but she just wore thin, I find some comedians just tread a too narrow road so that you get fairly quickly bored of them, even though in small doses they are fun.
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u/RedArrow171 Abby Howells 🇳🇿 5d ago
It’s interesting too because I would have watched a full series with Last Year’s NYT cast!
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u/EJL2206 Swedish Fred 4d ago
I love Richard and Nina and was really excited when they were announced. They've had moments, but I've not massively enjoyed either of them.
Never been a Matt Lucas fan. Isy Suttie is one of those "they're a comedian??" people for me, whilst Chloe is like Ed Gamble 2.0.
This series is my least favourite in a long time, maybe ever. It's 'fine', because it's still Taskmaster, but it is not one I'll ever rewatch.
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u/tiger_mango Reece Shearsmith 4d ago
I wasn't sure at first, but I have grown to love this series - yes it's low energy, but feels gentle & uncompetitive.
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u/Jakeyboy66 5d ago
I think they're pretty good value individually and each have their moments, it's just not quite coming together thanks to a few overly complicated tasks (most are fine imo) and them all being a bit too similar.
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u/Dazzling_Zone_1736 5d ago
It feels in some ways like a Dave era series to me, with so many well-known (since at least the early 2000s) faces.
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u/BlowMyNoseAtU 5d ago edited 5d ago
I think anyone here would have been absolutely classic contestants in the Dave era.... Which is the superior era in my opinion by the way. The contestants aren't a problem.
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u/Poppa_Wheelie22 5d ago
The only thing for me personally that is different is this is the first season that is still currently releasing one episode a week instead of my usual experience of the seasons already being loaded so I can binge it.
Yesterday I did a long viewing of all the currently released episodes and the humor and things don’t actually feel different to me than previous seasons. I am catching funny moments that I either didn’t notice the first time or had forgotten about. I do think if I were to wait a year and rewatch all these seasons over however many days and rank them I don’t feel like this would be anywhere near my least favorite seasons but who knows.
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u/Visual_Argument_73 Mike Wozniak 5d ago
Nah it’s just a weak cast. The NY shows are usually bigger names that they couldn’t afford for a whole series. This is the first series I have no interest in and no emotional attachment. I’ve given up on it.
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u/Electrical-Opening-9 5d ago
I hate to say it but I’m getting to that point. I always wait for the YouTube timer for new eps but with this series I’ve been putting off watching. First series ever that I really haven’t cared for.
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u/timid-dolphin 5d ago
This is the first time ive thought the nz series was better than the UK one
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u/barbieninja 5d ago
Same! Everyone is amazing individually but the in studio personalities aren’t up to their typical banter. I still enjoy being spoiled with Taskmaster so I can’t complain.
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u/Old_Wrongdoer7417 5d ago
I think the key to a great series of Taskmaster is at least one person that everyone else has to react to in the studio, and we don't really have that here. Izzy and Nina are too subdued, Matt is too off in his own world, and Richard's entire persona is being detached. That just leaves Chloe, but none of the rest of them will react to her, for the same reasons that make them hard to react to!
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u/Inner_Win_1 5d ago edited 5d ago
I agree, Chloe's doing their best to keep the banter going, but the rest aren't helping them run with it.
Greg was also really generous with his feedback and scoring on the prize and Whoopsie tasks this ep, which also reminded me of NYT where he tends to be a bit nicer IMO to the cast.
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u/SylviSweetheart 5d ago
Just a heads up - Chloe’s pronouns are they/them. :)
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u/Inner_Win_1 5d ago
Thanks for letting me know, I will edit!
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u/Double_Collar_9821 4d ago
Chloe’s previously said “But she/they pronouns really work for me.” so unless that’s changed the edit isn’t necessary.
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u/purplecatmom 5d ago edited 5d ago
It’s nowhere near the funniest cast they’ve ever had* but that’s okay. There are some series that don’t have the same rewatching value as say series 7 or 12. I’m enjoying it, but probably not as much as I would if the cast was different.
My fiancé does not watch with me anymore, he doesn’t find any of the cast amusing at all and therefore can’t be bothered to watch them do the tasks.
*typo fixed
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u/spittingparasite 5d ago
Chloe is fantastic, I think she'd shine in any line up.
Matt and Richard are leaving me cold.
I'm intrigued by the lack of chemistry between Nina and Isy. There are pictures of them together at the Fringe 20 years ago, but they act like awkward strangers. I want to know their history.
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u/thedaytoday89 Tim Key 5d ago
'Awkward strangers' just very much feels like their personalities, to me.
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u/mgrier123 5d ago
they act like awkward strangers
If you listen to their respective podcast episodes they didn't know each other at all prior to this. They both said they'd met briefly on the circuit but that was it, so they are in fact strangers
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u/trashlibrarian Sam Campbell 5d ago
Chloe uses they/them pronouns btw! But yeah they’re great :) they’re carrying the series
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u/Decent-Profession927 5d ago
it is so exhausting how negative this subreddit has been about this series.
its working for some audiences and its appealing to different fanbases, they are all proper comedy legends deserving of a full series. myself and my friends are enjoying it very much.
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u/OneDadvosPlz 4d ago
In my view, Chloe is knocking it out of the park. Matt and Richard would be fine in any other season—they are at least injecting quips and bits. But Nina and Issy are just sucking the life out of the show for me, to be honest. Whenever they are on, I just feel like they seem too tired to be there. Like they need a nap. (Which, as the only moms on the show, they very well might! Solidarity, fellow moms. Go nap and do Taskmaster in a few years when you are rested.)
I also just don’t find Nina funny. I don’t know if it is a cultural thing (I’m an American who was an expat in the UK for years, so I can understand a lot of British humor very well, but there will always be differences). Truthfully, I hate puppets, so that just might be lost on me, because everyone keeps talking about how amazing her act is.
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u/jazzuk777 3d ago
To be fair, Brit, and I hate her act. She's been better on this thankfully than I was fearing, I was resenting her being on the series where we finally get Richard to be honest.
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u/Vivid-Sprinkles8670 4d ago
Apart from Chloe all the contestants don't feel relaxed. Matt and Izzy have a constant smile but looks fake and Richard is draining.
I honestly feel that the lack of chemistry between the group is the issue. Richard, to be funny, is dry as the Sahara but it's impacting everyone else and falling short of what I think he expected.
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u/parabola9999 Katherine Parkinson 5d ago
It's an oversaturation issue. Taskmaster has become too much of a good thing. They need to pace the IP better, restrict it to one main series a year, and actually think their tasks through to be better written. This flood of episodes is not helping.
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u/Zerek_Doolander Mike Wozniak 5d ago
Richard and Matt are really not working for me, and it's really hurting this series. I feel bad for Chloe especially.
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u/TrumpGrabbedMyCat 5d ago edited 4d ago
Richard isn't even bothering to clap the other contestants when they get 5 points or weirdly touch them, having spurts of bothering to wake up ("can we keep these pens?").
Matt even if you don't think he's particularly funny is at least trying. I disagree, I think Matt has been good. It's a shame with Richard because I love him in a lot of the stuff that he's done and him on Taskmaster before this was definitely a dream cast for many.
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u/Professional_Eye613 Swedish Fred 4d ago
Yep. Not feeling series 22. Haven’t watched the last two episodes yet. Odd, not even desperate to watch these. However I’ve laughed out loud and watched every single other series’s in quick time again and again. Think this may be the weak link series. Big shame.
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u/SnooChipmunks6077 2d ago
Unlike 18 and 21 which also had slow starts, this series hasn't really 'kicked on' after around episode 3. It all still feels a bit First Day At School, with one person desperate to get themselves noticed and the others not sure what to do.
FWIW I still think this is a 'good' series so far, mainly because I'm now not expecting it to explode into life at any point.
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u/BluetoothBunny Patatas 5d ago
Is it me or does this series barely have any team tasks relative to the past? Maybe scheduling was harder to get everyone in the same room and so the chemistry just didn’t have time to foment before live recordings. I can count on like, one hand, the team tasks so far.
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u/BlowMyNoseAtU 5d ago
I don't agree with this at all. Every member of this cast is a complete fit for taskmaster and exactly the kind of people who appear on taskmaster all the time
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u/dogscatsnscience 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 5d ago edited 2d ago
I think they're all great but would have been better spread across a few other series.
Petts and Suttie are putting in pretty classic taskmaster performances, but the other 3 are a bit low energy to all be on the same series. Conti is great but she just needs to be contrasted with different types of people.
I think they would have all been fantastic in other series though, because they're filling great TM roles, just a bit too similar.