--- title: "Taskmaster" year: 2015 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/taskmaster" fi1m_id: "taskmaster" imdb_id: "tt4934214" tmdb_id: 63404 wikidata_id: "Q20899617" fi1m_score: 82 critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 4 published: "2026-10-07T17:41:10.259571+00:00" updated: "2026-10-07T17:41:46.090764+00:00" region: "DK" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Taskmaster (2015) Created by Alex Horne · Comedy ## Identity Taskmaster - **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/taskmaster - **Type:** Series - **Fi1m ID:** taskmaster - **IMDb ID:** tt4934214 - **TMDB ID:** 63404 - **Wikidata ID:** Q20899617 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4934214/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/63404, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20899617 **Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 68 (early) from 4 reviews *In a sentence:* We would not normally accept this much supervision while eating doughnuts > *Taskmaster* makes inventive games feel like an evening in good company. Alex Horne and Greg Davies provide the dependable centre; the chief caveat is that some line-ups give the silliness considerably more life than others. ## Synopsis Greg Davies presides as the Taskmaster, with Alex Horne serving as his assistant and devising the games. Participants across the series include Asim Chaudhry, Russell Howard and Jack Dee, all appearing as themselves. Their job is to tackle challenges that can involve something as ordinary as eating doughnuts, with each participant bringing a different approach to the assignment. The changing line-up faces the tasks and one another, while Greg Davies and Alex Horne retain their overseeing roles. The games provide the immediate problem; the participants’ responses and their relationships with one another shape what follows. ## Review *Taskmaster* is an inventive, companionable comedy whose chief weakness is how much depends on the changing company. Alex Horne, its creator and writer, gives people games that make their different approaches worth watching, without requiring us to care deeply about the competition. That sounds like a modest ambition, and it is one that comedy programmes can spoil by trying to look more important. There is no embarrassment here about the prospect of an evening spent being silly. Greg Davies is the Taskmaster, with Alex Horne as his assistant, and the arrangement supplies a useful degree of ridiculous authority. A game involving doughnuts hardly requires such grand job titles, which is part of the pleasure. We laughed at the doughnut-eating challenge because it made the adults’ willingness to bother feel so recognisable. There is something cheering about a programme that takes this sort of play seriously enough to make it work. The writing deserves credit for choosing activities that leave room for personality. An elaborate puzzle can reduce everyone to the same puzzled expression; these games offer scope for an approach we might admire, question or recognise as uncomfortably close to our own. Alex Horne’s inventiveness is valuable because the amusement continues beyond the initial explanation of the task. We become interested in how particular people will respond, and a simple activity can sustain more attention than its description would suggest. Andy Devonshire directs, while James Dillon handles production design, and our strongest impression of their work is that it supports the foolishness without demanding separate admiration. This is a programme we remember through participants and games rather than through individual images. The production feels proportionate to the pleasure on offer, which matters when the subject is adults entertaining themselves. We never need an eating challenge to look like a major event; we need to enjoy the people attempting it. The caveat is casting. A line-up can be perfectly capable and still fail to give the games much extra life. When the contestants enjoy one another’s company, the exchanges feel worth hearing even if the task itself is slight; a less responsive group makes us notice how much repetition the premise involves. We are more indulgent of an ordinary game than of an episode in which the people never quite interest us. Inventing another challenge cannot fully repair that. That limitation is familiar in ensemble comedy, but it is particularly noticeable here because so much pleasure rests on temperament. We do not need every participant to be relentlessly funny, and the effort to dominate can be less enjoyable than a relaxed contribution. The programme is at its most welcoming when there is room for several different ways of being amusing. Its childishness helps: a shared appetite for messing about gives these people sufficient reason to spend time together, without needing to manufacture much else. We would recommend it with that casting caveat, especially to anyone tired of comedy that seems anxious to prove its intelligence. Some company will suit us better than others, and an uneven line-up need not put us off the programme. There is no need to demand more seriousness from it. Watch it with someone whose approach to a simple problem has long puzzled you. *Fi1m score 82, published 7 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Taskmaster worth watching?** *Taskmaster* is worth watching for inventive games and companionable comedy, and we score it 82. Alex Horne and Greg Davies provide a dependable centre, but our enjoyment depends on the changing contestants: some groups make even an ordinary challenge entertaining, while others expose the repetition. **Where can I watch Taskmaster in Denmark?** *Taskmaster* is not on any streaming or rental service in Denmark at the moment. It is available in 4 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Taskmaster, and is it suitable for children?** *Taskmaster* carries a UK 15 certificate and a US TV-14 rating, so its silly games should not be taken as a recommendation for younger children. The comedy centres on adults tackling challenges, including eating doughnuts; those certificates suggest a teenage-and-adult audience, but do not by themselves establish particular levels of violence or frightening content. **How does Taskmaster compare to The General?** *Taskmaster* shares [*The General*](https://film.one/film/the-general)’s pleasure in practical ingenuity, but we find the film the stronger choice for sustained action comedy. Buster Keaton’s railway adventures offer more spectacle, while the programme finds its humour in different personalities attempting simple tasks. We recommend *Taskmaster* for relaxed company, with the caveat that its changing line-ups make it less consistent. **What should I watch after Taskmaster?** After *Taskmaster*, try [*The General*](https://film.one/film/the-general) (1926, Fi1m 91): For the pleasure of watching practical ingenuity meet spectacularly awkward circumstances. Then [*PlayTime*](https://film.one/film/playtime) (1967, Fi1m 88): For anyone who enjoys watching ordinary objects defeat otherwise capable adults; and [*Detectorists*](https://film.one/tv/detectorists) (2014, Fi1m 87): Quieter companionship and small obsessions, with the same affection for human eccentricity. ### Reviews we read (4) - **The Guardian**, Jack Seale (85/100, inferred): Seale finds the series a carefree, comfortingly childish hit despite a somewhat underpowered new cast. He praises its silly charm and inventive games, especially the doughnut-eating challenge. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/08/taskmaster-review-a-cheap-childish-comedy-miracle) - **The i Paper**, Sarah Hughes (★★★★): Hughes says this episode restores her faith in the series, with its comedy driven by the chemistry among the contestants. She especially praises the laid-back partnership of Jo Brand and David Baddiel, whose relaxed detour becomes a highlight. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/taskmaster-review-episode-2-jo-brand-david-baddiel-katy-wix-rose-matafeo-tasks-337514) - **Radio Times**, Lauren Morris (75/100, inferred): Morris presents the new series as a silly, much-needed dose of escapism. The page’s description singles out its side-splitting humor, though the full review is unavailable. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/taskmaster-series-10-review-channel-4/) - **Vulture**, Roxana Hadadi (30/100, inferred): Hadadi finds Nanjiani’s season 21 run middling and argues his celebrity status and the show’s casting choices left him struggling to fit in. She praises Jason Mantzoukas’s distinctive, chaotic approach as a strong contrast that helped make him memorable. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/kumail-nanjiani-is-a-taskmaster-cautionary-tale.html) ## Details - **Created by:** Alex Horne - **Creator:** Alex Horne - **Director:** Andy Devonshire - **Writer:** Alex Horne - **Production design:** James Dillon - **Producer:** Andy Cartwright - **Cast:** Greg Davies as Self - Taskmaster; Alex Horne as Self - Taskmaster's Assistant; Andy Zaltzman as Self; Asim Chaudhry as Self; Babatunde Aléshé as Self; Ania Magliano as Self; Emma Sidi as Self; Jack Dee as Self - **Release (Denmark):** 28 July 2015 - **Genres:** Comedy ## Where to watch in Denmark Not streaming, renting or buying in Denmark at the last check. Also available in: CA, GB, IE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The General* (1926), Fi1m 91: For the pleasure of watching practical ingenuity meet spectacularly awkward circumstances. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-general.md) - *PlayTime* (1967), Fi1m 88: For anyone who enjoys watching ordinary objects defeat otherwise capable adults. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/playtime.md) - *Takeshi's Castle* (1986): Physical challenges make adult dignity expendable, with considerably more falling into water. - *The Goes Wrong Show* (2019): Another carefully organised comedy built around people failing at apparently manageable jobs. - *Detectorists* (2014), Fi1m 87: Quieter companionship and small obsessions, with the same affection for human eccentricity. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/detectorists.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/taskmaster