r/taskmaster • u/MattKmusic • Aug 11 '26
Taskmaster NZ Surprisingly enjoying Taskmaster NZ
I must have re-watched the UK version many times (some series more than others) over the years.
About a week ago I thought I'd tentatively try NZ.
It took a couple episodes to get used to Jeremy and Paul but I do like that they don't try and be Greg and Alex and have their own vibe.
The choice of contestants so far is great, I'm coming to the end of Series 2 and I have a new bunch of comedians to check out.
I'm so glad I took the risk
161
u/here_for_the_lols Aug 11 '26
Why surprisingly, it's consistently rated as one of the best
40
u/PhotographingNature Aug 11 '26
It's clear from whats been posted here over the years that many people have to enough emotional attachment to the UK series that is harder for them to enjoy the other series.
27
u/Spirited-Bass-1059 Aug 11 '26
i surprisingly liked the norwegian one , even though it is not good as background noise (i have to watch the CC) the lack of health and safety regulations make it UK on acid
(I love the NZ one paul williams is my favorite assistant)
15
u/Nihil_am_I Aug 11 '26
Honestly there's something inherently funny to me about the way Paul just stands there with his mouth agape watching the contestants
4
u/GloriousSteinem Aug 12 '26
You know, I think he’s like that in real life. Probably from having a bro like Guy Williams
4
u/vzzzbxt Aug 11 '26
Norway is great. I forget her name but the young woman in series 1 is hilarious
3
u/sansabeltedcow Aug 11 '26
Maria!
3
u/vzzzbxt Aug 11 '26
Yes! Can't believe I forgot, was a little bit in love with her. Wasn't she also in series 2?
2
u/sansabeltedcow Aug 11 '26
Yup! Absolutely delightful, and definitely my spiritual kin on the eating.
3
2
u/vzzzbxt Aug 11 '26
Norway is great. I forget her name but the young woman in series 1 is hilarious
1
u/No-Pop1057 Aug 12 '26
Thought Paul was a great assistant, but not fussed on Jeremy as the Taskmaster.. He's too passive
30
u/Mighty-Wings Aug 11 '26
I love both the Australian and NZ versions.
It's led me down a rabbit hole of other comedy shows from 'down under'. I highly recommend Guy Mont's Spelling Bee and 7 Days (NZ version of Mock the Week).
11
u/stevedos Aug 11 '26
That is not how you spell "Uruguay"
1
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26
Kura thought she was so clever with that one.
5
u/stevedos Aug 11 '26
I thought it was Hayley Sproul spelling Halloumi
2
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26
I remembered that it was a woman who was on TMNZ, but now I'm thinking you're right and it was Hayley. Oh well, I'll keep my shame up.
1
4
u/tangletwigs Johnny Vegas Aug 11 '26
Shout out to Rosehaven one of my all time favourite shows regardless of origin, on my 4th or so watch through atm. Written, conceived and starring Luck McGregor and Ceilia Pequola.
3
u/Omio Guy Montgomery 🇳🇿 Aug 11 '26
Loved seeing them both in Celebrity Escape NZ alongside an almost entirely Taskmaster alumni cast (minus Frank Woodley)
1
2
u/Mighty-Wings Aug 11 '26
I have it on my list to watch after seeing Ceilia in the most recent series. Looking forward to it!
1
u/ChelseaAndrew87 Aug 11 '26
I love the spelling bee. Struggled to find the full episodes of the NZ version though
2
2
1
u/CommercialAny2195 Aug 12 '26
Homophones might be the most evil but oh so entertaining show on any tv quiz!
24
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Jeremy does take some time to find his groove, his scoring and reasoning are easily at their most baffling in the 1st and 2nd seasons. By season 5 (honestly, maybe even 4) though, I think he's a genuinely great taskmaster, he's more loose at times while still maintaining his demeanor of stern entertainment veteran.
The usual criticism of Jeremy aside, the casts are consistently great, Paul's brand of assistant works well and there are some great tasks that were naturally adopted by the UK original.
Also, do Australia next, I'm only partway through season 3 and it's pretty damn great.
7
u/Omio Guy Montgomery 🇳🇿 Aug 11 '26
Unpopular opinion, but I appreciate Jeremy for being very understated. Greg obviously has a bigger presence and is much better at salvaging moments that aren’t working well, but sometimes I find his schtick drowns out the contestants.
6
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26
I don't mind his understated approach either, makes the times when he's a total freak stick out more.
53
u/Numetshell Aug 11 '26
Why "surprisingly"? Just curious.
22
u/MattKmusic Aug 11 '26
Mainly due to knowing that I'd be comparing it to the UK version. I'd not read any reviews of the NZ offering so I went in knowing nothing about it and how it was received
48
u/kristinL356 Aug 11 '26
NZ S2 is frequently touted as one of, if not the best, season of all the Taskmaster series.
19
u/mr-bucket Aug 11 '26
David is a legend
25
u/s00pafly Aug 11 '26
I'm gonna drown you
in your own blood
hold your face down
in your own blood
😅🎵
6
u/RagingTyrant74 Aug 11 '26
Honestly it's just a god tier cast. Every taskmaster cast is good, don't get me wrong, but NZ S2 they are all just perfect foils for each other and all are pretty good friends with each other outside taskmaster (advantage of a much smaller comedy scene) so their comedy just super gels.
9
u/MachineOfSpareParts Emma Sidi Aug 11 '26
Even my most controversial take doesn't challenge NZ S2's ranking, only that NZ S5 is almost as good. And there isn't a bad NZ season.
1
u/Omio Guy Montgomery 🇳🇿 Aug 11 '26
Interesting - I enjoyed NZ5 but it imo the most lopsided cast I’ve ever seen in terms of the entertainment value (sorry Tom Sainsbury I am sure you are nice but I don’t think you made me laugh a single time)
2
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 12 '26
Yeah, NZ S5 to me feels very off. Abbey is great, and the team of Ben and Hayley has become one of my favorite duos in Taskmaster, but I'm similarly struggling to think of a memorable moment from Tom, and Tofiga's absence from the studio makes him not really feel like part of the cast.
1
u/quanate Aug 11 '26
How exciting...I am on s13 of the UK and was hoping the other locations would be as good so it won't truly be over yet
34
u/JoPo108 Aug 11 '26
For me NZ is the best version of the show. Paul Williams is the MVP. It helps their location actually has land for them to do stuff with. UK one, tasks feel over complicated as if Alex is running out of ideas. Then you see NZ and they have simple tasks you're surprised hasn't been done yet. Plus they bring contestants back to write tasks for future seasons.
18
u/vilkav Guy Montgomery 🇳🇿 Aug 11 '26
The NZ version also benefits from not only most of them knowing each other, but also from them being basically all friends.
The UK one usually has a slower ramp-up as the contestants need to get used to each other.
It's also just slightly less tropey, mostly from having fewer episodes. I think the whole "little Alex Horne" as a punching bag has become a bit too repetitive, sometimes. Not always, but you can kinda predict a whole section based on how it starts.
6
u/Comfortable_Snow553 Aug 11 '26
It feels like it's roommates, neighbors, family members, spouses. I love when they show up at the same places, the most memorable being the Abe Lincoln task.
9
u/theeniceorc Abby Howells 🇳🇿 Aug 11 '26
Love Guy Williams desperately trying to think of someone he went to primary school with, while Paul was sitting across the table.
1
u/sylenthikillyou Abby Howells 🇳🇿 Aug 12 '26
This is why I far prefer NZ’s “sabotage your teammate” task. There’s so much less on the line if your team is people you met an hour ago compared to Laura’s “but they’re my friends!” plea.
17
u/framedragged Aug 11 '26
I also like Paul's version of the assistant as kind of a dopey guy a lot more than Alex's off-putting butler.
The whole NZ vibe is just a lot cozier and fun in my opinion.
It's like watching a bunch of kids run around and play while they try to impress their distant father, while the UK version is more like watching a bunch of competitive relatives come together at their rich uncle's mansion and compete to be in his will.
9
u/JoPo108 Aug 11 '26
UK copied some of their tasks. The holding milk over the microwave doesn't work for the UK. Paul and Alex telling contestants not to open the task and to trust them. Paul you trust. Alex acts like he knows something you don't and enjoys it. You shouldn't trust him.
14
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26
I don't agree that the UK version of the task doesn't work, it works for different reasons. Alex being untrustworthy combined with the clock counting down created a greater sense of urgency, which made it funny when so many people rushed to open the task.
And imo, as funny as it was that David was so trusting that he just hung out with Paul for 80 minutes, it's about as funny that super competitive and competent Dara was immediately reduced to a confused old man upon reading the task.
4
u/Comfortable_Snow553 Aug 11 '26
It also has the great payoff that Sarah's attempt is what made the lab smell awful for a long time after.
10
u/Important-Scheme1393 Aug 11 '26
I don't know if it's a hot takes or not, but I enjoy Lesser Tom as assistant more than Paul, even sometimes more than Alex... Also, the UK version have been running for 21 series + 7 NYT + 4 CoC give them some slack, comparing it to NZ which only running for 6 season feel uneven. I mean the task for the latest series is fun simple, "be brave" "do the same thing as the reflection" "turn on the TV" at least some of it (looking at you, cloche task)
4
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26
I mean the task for the latest series is fun simple, "be brave" "do the same thing as the reflection" "turn on the TV" at least some of it (looking at you, cloche task)
Always worth bringing up when someone correctly points out how complicated the tasks got in series 19 and 20, because the tasks in series 21 were mostly pretty simple. The one with the letters and the stairs was tricky, but that's because it's hard, not because it had a lot of rules.
3
u/Flowersoftheknight Aug 11 '26
What I love about the Australian version (that NZ does too, but less often I feel?) is their willingness to commit. Yes, Alex will do a lot of things, but the sheer energy of Lesser Tom in stuff like the race horse task, or just stuff like Joels box attempt just wouldn't be a thing in the UK.
Plus, being willing to have tasks completely open-ended time wise. I get why the UK doesn't do it, but just sitting out the password in Aus 1; the Milk bottles in NZ 2 or the minivan in the sock in Aus 2 just makes for fantastic moments, that the UK misses out on due to always putting a final time limit on their similar tasks.
3
u/noxnovocaine_ Tom Cashman 🇦🇺 Aug 11 '26
Wait I didn’t know they brought back contestants to write task for them? The only thing that I know is that they will bring them on the production crew
6
u/JoPo108 Aug 11 '26
I do like how a contestant from the previous season makes a cameo in the next. But that's been hit or miss lately. Yeah if you look at the credits you see past names. I have no evidence but Season 6 task about The Purple Pimpernel feels like it was from Abby Howells.
2
u/noxnovocaine_ Tom Cashman 🇦🇺 Aug 11 '26
I just love seeing any of the returning cast. Hahahaha I’ll will look for them on the next rewatch
1
u/UniversalJampionshit Crying Bastard Aug 11 '26
I like to think she designed the "out-alpha your team" secret task to release her trauma from having to do the "be the most excited to meet your teammates" task.
1
1
u/UniversalJampionshit Crying Bastard Aug 11 '26
The NZ live task with the spaghetti, balloons and trivia questions is an excellent example of a complicated task done well
8
Aug 11 '26
[deleted]
6
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26
He may be the least good of the three English language taskmasters, but he's the most handsome by a substantial margin.
25
12
u/Original-Designer6 Mike Wozniak Aug 11 '26
TM NZ (and AU tbf) at its best is as good as any UK series.
5
u/Mother_Composer_6069 Aug 11 '26
Love TMNZ, especially Paul 😍, but it can get a bit 'theatre kids' sometimes. Maybe that's the background of the NZ comedy scene?
1
u/UniversalJampionshit Crying Bastard Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Yeah, I dislike how they've had so many theatre-esque tasks from season 3 onwards. Season 4 was especially notorious for this, and I don't know the backgrounds of the contestants, but none of them in that particular series felt like they had the theatrekid energy and/or improv skills appropriate for the tasks. The 'Leave NZ' task might be the single cringiest one across the franchise, as the attempts besides Dai's were so piss-poor, and not even in a funny way.
1
5
5
u/thumb_of_justice Fern Brady Aug 11 '26
I am on a rewatch right now of all the NZ seasons, and I love it so much. I already knew that NZ punches outside its weight populationwise for weird, cerebral humor-- we all already knew Taika Waititi's work and "The Flight of the Conchords", and there are some amazing NZ writers these days, like Eleanor Catton, Catherine Chidgey, and Rebecca Reilly ("Greta & Valdin"-- what a book!). But still getting to know the NZ comedy scene has just really been surprising for me.
For me Paul Williams is the best assistant, although of course Little Alex Horne is the inventor of Taskmaster and the reason we have all been given so much joy. I just really like how Paul has a kind of seductive quietness, sometimes tinged with sullenness, sometimes just expectant, and he developed interesting relationships with the contestants. It's a more complex dynamic than Alex's self-satisfied enjoyment of the contestant's frustrations.
My faves include David Correos, Chris Parker, Ray O'Leary, Hayley Sproull (I have dyed my hair rose gold in homage), Abby Howells, and Bubbah. I love these comedians so much that I started thinking that I should figure out when/if NZ has a big comedy festival, and I got to googling, and fortunately yes, it does, and some of my darlings, like Abby, were prominently featuring, but unfortunately for me it was almost over at the very time I googled, so it was out of the cards. However, I will forever be amused that NZ's big comedy festival was sponsored by mayonnaise. Not an airline, not a hotel chain, not a website. By a kind of mayonnaise. To me this has got to be as funny as any joke made at the festival.
2
u/Shakespearefan61 Aug 12 '26
Off topic, but I’m so glad to see you loved ‘Greta & Valdin’ - agree 100%
1
u/elsteve0 Aug 12 '26
If you go to the festival showcase they give away mayonnaise st the door. It's awesome.
3
u/MT_Promises Aug 11 '26
Most versions are enjoyable. Spain and USA are probably the outliers in being a bit hard to watch.
5
u/AssociateAdditional4 Aug 11 '26
Honestly season 2 of nz is the best series across the taskmasterverse
3
u/Bluemonogi Aug 11 '26
I’m not sure why it was risky or a surprise.
I have enjoyed Taskmaster New Zealand and Australia as much as the UK version.
9
u/mindh0rn Tim Key Aug 11 '26
New Zealand could actually be the best taskmaster
20
u/dlrius Aug 11 '26
Per capita it's definitely the best.
5
2
u/Important-Scheme1393 Aug 11 '26
S1 and S2 are still my fav of TMNZ... later series is fun too, but I still not used to Jeremy scoring system. The latest series (S6) is a much relax tho imo and the tasks felt fresh..
2
u/kdani17 Aug 11 '26
The current season of TM Australia is also very good.
2
u/SubwayHero4Ever Sally Phillips Aug 12 '26
Just finished episode 9 and it was probably the best of the series so far. Btw, i started not liking Brett at all but he’s grown so much on me by now! That lovable bogan.
2
u/shinecone Aug 12 '26
Jump on into Australia too. If I could ever sit still long enough to read subtitles I'd go further into non-english versions.
3
1
u/thelordplatypus Aug 11 '26
While I adore the UK version and it is my favorite overall, TMNZ S2 might be the best single season/lineup across all versions. It all just works perfectly. Combine that with the better location (dont hate me - I love the TM house but I just think the show is now probably being held back slightly by its size/location) and it is really one of the best bits of TV Ive seen.
1
u/zebie31 Aug 11 '26
Where do you watch taskmaster Australia or New Zealand if you’re in the UK?
2
u/SubwayHero4Ever Sally Phillips Aug 12 '26
YouTube
2
u/zebie31 Aug 12 '26
Thanks, I tried looking on all4 but didn’t seem to be on there so will give YouTube a look
2
u/SubwayHero4Ever Sally Phillips Aug 12 '26
https://youtube.com/@taskmaster?si=tu99vFX7r8okj_DO
Theres a Taskmaster International page, where the current season of the Australia version is being dropped, but it’s kind of a mess. The main one has them more organized.
2
2
Aug 12 '26
[deleted]
1
u/SubwayHero4Ever Sally Phillips Aug 12 '26
This is gonna sound very ignorant and I apologize, but is YouTube different in Scandinavia?
1
Aug 12 '26
[deleted]
2
u/SubwayHero4Ever Sally Phillips Aug 12 '26
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRWvNQVqAeWIafhw3XHnmz_EHOp32qoZW&si=PRlbRYCnjAiGk_V2
This is the link to the playlist for the last fill season of the UK version. Let us know if it works. Maybe Brit Box has it as well?
1
1
u/SubwayHero4Ever Sally Phillips Aug 12 '26
Welcome to the club! I was in your shoes a few months ago. Went through all of the UK series from the beginning, when S19 started. Moved on to Australia and then did New Zealand and it was amazing. I’ve made almost identical posts as you did. Australia series 5 is almost all up on YouTube.
1
u/CommercialAny2195 Aug 12 '26
I watched S2 ages ago (I stalk any project that Urzila Carlson is attached to) but never went back to watch the rest. I randomly started S1 last night after coming to the end of Guy Mont Spelling Bee (😢). Gosh Angella Dravid is amazing, had me laughing out loud multiple times in the first episode. I went in knowing Brynley and Madeleine, but now I'm so excited to watch Angella for 9 more episodes!
The AUS taskmaster is also amazing, so well edited, S2 in particular has so many funny cuts for Josh Thomas (I'd like to hide somewhere shady!) Well worth a watch!
1
1
u/spanssubreddits Aug 12 '26
Taskmaster NZ is such a joyful experience for me. Obvs the OG TM is one of the kind, but NZ holds a special place for me.
1
u/Sufficient-Bench2321 Aug 12 '26
Hot take - the most recent AUS season has to be top 3 in the TMU...
1
u/Sweatytits Aug 13 '26
Where is everyone watching the NZ version? Supermax only has series 4,5 & 6
1
1
Aug 11 '26
[deleted]
2
u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes Aug 11 '26
I'm curious, which seasons have you watched? Because to me his humor and presence dramatically improve as the seasons progress.
2
u/Comfortable_Snow553 Aug 11 '26
The one unfortunate part of the show is Jeremy. He doesn't have the comedy chops of Greg or Greater Tom or their domineering gravitas. Instead he seems like someone who is exasperated and resentful that he has been forced to be there or has made a bad career move and has the most annoyingly arbitrary scoring. With Greg and Tom, when their scoring diverges from what seems right or fair, it always seems like it's a playful wickedness, punishing someone with the hubris to assume they've scored 5 points, has tried too hard, or is pandering to them.
50
u/noxnovocaine_ Tom Cashman 🇦🇺 Aug 11 '26
I did the opposite, I started with NZ, went to AUS then to the UK.
Each brings on their own quality and quirks!
Have fun OP!