The much-loved Channel 4, and now Netflix, show has now been running well over a decade. In that time, it has served up laughs galore, as well as the chance to see Britain’s best comedians make prats of themselves on screen.
But with so many seasons to get stuck into (17 and counting), where to start watching? Some are great, some just get the job done, and some are best skipped altogether – here’s our guide to where they stand overall. Let the arguments commence.
17. Season 6
What was it about season six that fell so flat? Coming hot on the heels of season five, which featured big personalities like Bob Mortimer and Nish Kumar, this lineup of contestants (Russell Howard, Tim Vine) feel slightly lacklustre by comparison. There are fewer stand-up comedians. Nobody really cares about doing the tasks. And Russell Howard looks visibly uncomfortable for a lot of it. As bland as the show gets.
16. Season 10
We’re saying it: season 10 could have been better. The contestants are charming (Daisy May Cooper and Mawaan Rizwan are great) but the chemistry between them is lacking. It also doesn’t help that the show was filmed in the depths of Covid – meaning that Alex, Greg and all the contestants are sat two metres away from each other, in an empty studio. That makes it hard to conjure up the level of banter that the show thrives on, and it suffers here.
15. Season 17
Getting the perfect Taskmaster cast is no small feat. If the comedians are too manic, the show goes off the rails. If they’re too chill, it’s not exciting – and this is the fate that sadly befalls season 17. Nobody seems bothered about the competitive element of the show, and the tasks fall short too: one treasure hunt ends with none of the contestants getting any of the clues. And the less said about the toilet roll studio challenge the better. We live in hope of better times.
14. Season 3
This season is mostly a showcase for Paul Chowdhry’s truly bizarre onscreen persona – which he carries out with such commitment that Greg starts to get worried. Because of this (or maybe despite it), the cast – which also comprises Al Murray, Dave Gorman, Rob Beckett and Sara Pascoe – never really gel. That said, it’s still worth watching episode two for the task in which they’re all asked to surprise Alex as he emerges from his shed, and for which Rob Beckett ends up dressing like a grandma.
13. Season 8
Not the show’s best. For whatever reason, the contestants fail to bond (Joe Thomas is an exceedingly awkward human, as is Paul Sinha) and while Iain Stirling brings plenty of energy, and becomes increasingly manic as the series goes on, it fails to hit the all-time Taskmaster highs. Bonus points, though, for the task in which the contestants drive a buggy blindfolded, which quickly descends into all-out chaos.
12. Season 15
It’s not that season 15 is bad, per se, but things do feel slightly rushed. There’s less discussion, more arguments, and quite often the tasks seem edited to be shorter than they have been on previous seasons. Perhaps as a result, the banter is definitely not up to the standard of previous years, with perhaps the exception of Frankie Boyle’s flagrant disregard for the rules. Not a vintage year.
11. Season 1
Most shows take a while to find their footing, and the same applies for Taskmaster. While season one has its moments – hearing the joy in Romesh Ranganathan’s voice as he narrates a charming short film about a flying Tree Wizard is quite something – the tasks are still a little basic, the Little Alex Horne joke hadn’t taken off yet, and the format just isn’t as polished as it is later on. Still worth a watch though, to see where it all began.
10. Season 2
Say ‘season two’ to any TM fan and chances are they’ll think about Richard Osman carrying three balance balls and a yoga mat to the top of a massive hill. But there some other gems here, too: the instruction to “impress this mayor”, for example, or Joe Wilkinson managing to slam dunk a potato into a hole, with the kind of celebrations that would put an England football fan to shame. The words “Potato. Hole!” are now staples of the Taskmaster lexicon.
9. Season 14
Tune into season 14 for Munya Chawawa’s rambling stories (including his ‘nine gardeners’ one from the very first ep), the silent movie bathtub feather task and John Kearns’ trip to the pharmacy to buy ducks, to complete bafflement from everybody else. Plus, there’s the absolute meltdown that is the sabotage task, in which Kearns is secretly instructed to destroy his team’s chance at victory to nab himself five sweet points. What’s more impressive, though, is the fact that neither Dara O’Briain or Fern Brady cotton on.
8. Season 12
Worth the entry fee simply to see Desiree Burch throwing forks, darts and rubber ducks at a balloon in the pouring rain. This season also marks a high-water point for the studio tasks, which have rarely been this entertaining: blowing a feather across a table using only their nose, or making noises without the Taskmaster identifying you. And it’s always fun to watch Victoria Coren Mitchell coolly solving riddles that stump literally everybody else.
7. Season 4
Another good’un, which sees Noel Fielding making Alex’s head into an “exotic sandwich” before eating it. People attempt to choreograph a ringtone dance, and Noel also utilises his bright yellow onesie to transform himself into a banana at the behest of the Taskmaster. In short, Noel’s deranged energy makes this, but a shout-out too to Hugh Dennis’s deflated dad vibe, which he delivers in spades.
6. Season 11
Has there ever been a contestant as bamboozling to Greg Davies as Mike Wozniak? Joining the crew for season 11 (alongside Charlotte Ritchie, Lee Mack, Jamali Maddix and Sarah Kendall), he proves one of the show’s highlights. When asked to fart on command, he contorts himself into some “brewing positions” to speed things along. He coins the phrase “absolute casserole” and doesn’t even break down when asked to memorise and conduct an insane series of tasks. We love to see it.
5. Season 16
The season of the unhinged comedians. Sue Perkins and Lucy Beaumont certainly serve up plenty of spectacle here, and top of the list has to be the task in which the contestants are challenged to “do something shocking but family-friendly with this doughnut.” Cue Beaumont chewing up hers and feeding it to Alex Horne like a baby bird. It’s childish, it’s silly, it’s fun, and even if the show’s well of wacky task ideas is running slightly dry at this point, the formula still works.
4. Season 13
This series started off slow – but my goodness did it hit its stride. With Ardal O'Hanlon, Bridget Christie, Chris Ramsey, Judi Love, and Sophie Duker duking it out as contestants (in front of a studio audience, for the first time since series nine), we got savage studio commentary (mostly from Ardal), Bridget Christie forlornly banging her pot and of course, the unforgettable House Queens rap to top it off.
3. Season 9
AKA the season that almost gave Ed Gamble a mental breakdown. With Gamble, Rose Matafeo and Katy Wix’s youthful exuberance balanced against the “couldn’t give a damn” attitude of Jo Brand and David Baddiel, the end result is a wonderful mix of over-the-top and distinctly underwhelming. And watching David Baddiel struggle to complete any task in the allotted time (before cocking it up irreparably) will never not be funny.
2. Season 5
Who would have thought that making contestants sing a song about a stranger named Rosalind would become one of Taskmaster’s best-ever moments? Not only did season five coin the phrase “Rosalind’s a f**king nightmare!”, it also gave us a strong lineup with Aisling Bea, Bob Mortimer and Sally Phillips.
1. And the winner is… season 7
The crème de la crème of the Taskmaster format. Everything about this is perfection. There’s the spot on cast, made up of James Acaster, Jessica Knappett, Kerry Godliman, Phil Wang and Rhod Gilbert (the last of whom takes increasingly unsubtle digs at Greg as the episodes progress). There are the mad tasks (tying up Alex, for instance). There’s Rhod stalking Greg in his actual house, in the middle of the night. Honestly, every moment is comedy gold. Watch, and watch again.
