Over the past few seasons, the magic woven into the fabric of the Channel 4 series Taskmaster has faded, but season 19 might just have changed the game.
There’s no denying that Taskmaster is one of the most ingenious, rib-tickling reality TV shows around. You can’t go far wrong with the premise of forcing five comedians to execute a series of increasingly ridiculous tasks – and then dissect it all in front of a live audience.
I was first convinced to watch the show (described by some as jury duty for comedians) after becoming hooked on the viral TikTok clips from seasons gone by and haven’t looked back since.
Hosted by Greg Davies and his sidekick, little Alex Horne, it has featured some truly phenomenal line-ups like season seven’s James Acaster, Jessica Knappett, Kerry Godliman, Phil Wang and Rhod Gilbert or season five’s Aisling Bea, Mark Watson, Nish Kumar, and Sally Phillips.
As well as moments that will go down in Taskmaster history like the time Mel Giedroyc took a toy camel to a kids’ Gap (the challenge was to fit the toy through the smallest gap) or when Jessica Knappett fell off the stage.
And who can forget Mark Watson and Nish Kumar forming a band called the Diverse Stripes and performing a song to a stranger called I’m Always Seeing You (Do Cool Stuff) that deserved to become a top 40 hit.
(You just had to be there.)
All this to say that Taskmaster is one of those rare shows that will actually have me bent over in laughing rather than just… lazily puffing air out of my nose and calling it a day.
Over the past few seasons, however, I had started to grow concerned that the show may have lost its usual charm. There were less and less memorable moments and the tasks just didn’t seem to provoke the same hilarity they once did.
Despite watching season 18 just months ago (it came out in October), I genuinely wouldn’t be able to tell you a single task that has stayed with me. It was fine, but the hijinks seemed to just merge into one.
Although the comedians brought in were great, the show lacked that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that usually has me ready to watch more… and some more after that.
I don’t know whether the tasks felt too formulaic or if it was that the groups lacked that vital chemistry, but I struggled to get into the show like I usually did, rooting for one comedian or another.
So when the show returned for season 19, I wasn’t tripping over myself to watch it.
Eventually, after seeing a few funny moments online and growing praise for the new cohort – Mathew Baynton, Rosie Ramsey, Stevie Martin, Jason Mantzoukas, and Fatiha El-Ghorri – I decided to give it a try, and boy, had I been wrong.
This season has been nothing short of delightful, reaching all the highs of earlier seasons in its own unique way.
The dynamic between our fab five jumps off the screen, packed with witty dialogue and season-long inside jokes like Fatiha’s one-woman quest to marry Greg.
There’s Jason’s motto that doubles as US foreign policy ‘destroy, dismantle and engulf in flames’; Stevie’s self-deprecating humour; Fatiha’s deadpan quips; Rosie’s constant bafflement at literally every single task she is presented with; and, of course, Mathew’s commitment to the tasks (lest we forget yoghurtgate in which the Ghosts star licked yoghurt off Alex’s shoes naked while calling him daddy).
After 10 years and 19 seasons, I thought the show had long lost its allure. Instead, I think I’ve just watched my favourite season.
I’m not alone, fans online have declared this season an ‘all timer’, and expressed their relief that it still has the wow factor that sets it apart from the crowd.
It proves that, with the right group of people, Taskmaster has an enduring appeal that makes it one of the funniest shows on TV that could go on indefinitely if given the chance.
As season 19 comes to an end, I can’t help but mourn the loss of these five comics on my screen every week, but it has reinvigorated my interest in the series, meaning I will be sat when season 20 hits our screens.
Each one of them has been an unexpected delight, bolstered by Greg and Alex’s razor-sharp dynamic that has never wavered.
So for the naysayers who have left the show behind, I would recommend catching up – you won’t regret it.
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