The acclaimed and award-winning British comedy game Taskmaster returns for its seventeenth season. After nearly a decade on the air, how does the successful duo manage to stay fresh?
“I think there are some lucky things,” reflected Horne, author and co-host of the show. “The first is that there’s a completely different panel or a different cast for each show, so five other people have never been there before. And it never will be, so everything is automatically new from that point of view. It’s like starting a comedy with two old characters you know and then five new ones.
“We are the white lotus of the entertainment world,” added co-host and famous comedian Greg Davies, the titular Taskmaster. “On the contrary, it’s the White Lotus that swindled us (laughs). “
Horne continued, “Also, the responsibilities are different every time. We’ve set a stupid rule: you can’t repeat a task. Other than those two things, each and every one of the others remains the same. We’re getting a little older. “
Taskmaster, an exhibit in which five comedians compete in various brain challenges, can be seen in the U. S. and Canada. To be available in the U. S. , on Taskmaster’s official YouTube channel and through the Taskmaster SuperMax SVOD service. It is hugely successful in the United States, garnering 130,000 subscribers in the U. S. In the last 12 months, he has been working in the U. S. and achieving 200 million views and 60 million hours viewed on YouTube.
Davies believes that the seasonal revolving door of panelists allows the audience to connect with them, but it also means that they don’t get too much of the same and that the reactions are authentic, and that’s the same for him and Horne.
“Having a new character organization means they confuse our expectations. We have a concept of what they can bring to the program, and they do, plus a lot of other weird and glorious things,” Davies said. Think of this story of the best-laid plans of mice and men, when we put together a group of other people who we think will interact in a certain way, they never do. I don’t think formulas work in the plan. show. “
Horne added, “A lot of times some of them had never noticed the display before, which surprises me because they agreed to do it. I like it when they haven’t noticed the exhibit because they’re not looking to copy someone else. “
Davies chimed in: “We had a competitor in Series 15 or something and I don’t think he knew who I was.
(From left to right) Comedians Greg Davies and Alex Horne an interview with host Seth Meyers on Array. [] Late Night with Seth Meyers on March 26, 2024.
Horne also revealed that he “sometimes feels awkward” when it comes to opting for a panel. “There are other people who need to participate and who I think are brilliant, but there are only a limited number of places. You can get a “It’s a little tricky. Just this morning we were talking about someone who would be great,” he said.
Davies added: “I think other people are excited to do it because it provides them with a slightly different showcase. As a user who wakes up, you get a little bored of your creation after a while, if that makes sense. You’re putting restrictions on yourself as an interpreter of a multitude of things that probably only a therapist could unravel. In Taskmaster, you can’t hide in creation; You want to reveal at least something about yourself. These are things they weren’t even aware of, and that is for me one of the wonderful pleasures of the exhibition.
Although the panels are carefully selected, the responsibilities are less coordinated.
“It’s completely fine to think of it in terms of dinner, but I don’t pick and choose the responsibilities that fall on people,” Horne revealed. “There’s ten episodes, so there’s going to be music, some other that’s about art and sports, but if we have someone we know who can sing, we don’t say, ‘Oh, we have to do it, of course, they sing at some point. ‘It would be better if we did, but I’m cynical, so we prefer the funniest stuff to the best.
Many incarnations of Taskmaster already exist, which began as an exhibition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival around the world. However, will the two men bring the British series to America?
“We’re in New York right now and we’re murmuring about it. We think it works,” Horne reflected.
“We’d love to do that. I’ll say it openly,” Davies laughed. “I’d love for us to do that, but I think it’s going to be a recreation of what we do on our terms. “our global and betting by our rules, and I think that would work, and I’d love to do it. “
Horne continued, “Americans have enjoyed some British series, such as The Office and Monty Python. I don’t know why, but I think they took them under their wing. I don’t have an answer for you, and maybe it’s because it’s quintessentially British, but it’s very different from anything else on American television. People tend to tell us what makes them happy, and if they’re sad, they can turn to it and run away.
So who would you want to be on the U. S. Taskmaster panel?Is there a U. S. economy?
“Schwarzenegger,” they said in unison.
“And Danny DeVito,” Horne added. We’d love to have Kamala Harris. “
“Who’s the one animating the chat?Drew Barrymore,” Davies continued.
Greg Davies and Alex Horne at a seasonal launch at Claridge’s Hotel, London.
In recent years, Taskmaster’s popularity has increased in the United States, as evidenced by the pandemic when Horne gave enthusiasts responsibilities to complete and submit their results.
“We enjoyed it,” Davies recalls. Escape is a word used in our series. Even as a Taskmaster, the appeal to me is that you step out of genuine life and exist within the boundaries and regulations of this universe. I think other people like that because the Taskmaster universe “There are things you have to do to live in this world and maybe you can do it with other tensions. I don’t know if it’s particularly the fact that we’re British or rather that it appeals to the highest human preference for things. “
Do enthusiasts of the show ever visit to recommend responsibilities for the series?
“I push those other people to the ground,” Davies joked. You could also take this as a warning. Now, if you technique me and try to give me your tasks, you’ll get knocked down. “I’ve learned how to do it safely. I’m not. I choke them or anything horrible. Also, I put them on the floor and leave.
Horne added: “A lot of times they haven’t even spoken and you see a look in their eyes. My formula is to write down your concepts and then burn the paper. “
According to the duo, filming a season lasts about six months. While the 17th is unfolding, they are already working on the 18th.
“We’re just getting started and the study component probably won’t be implemented until September. We started filming about a month ago,” Horne confirmed. It’s like a laugh for them to look back and see what they looked like six years ago. “”Months ago. Sometimes they forget. It’s a long process and we love it. They’ve invested a giant part of their lives into it. “
“Panelists will do it one day a week and one day two weeks later. We check to spread out the days because if they don’t they get a little worried and it becomes too predictable. We do it on their agenda, anywhere. “I’m free. “
(From left to right) Taskmaster’s Alex Horne and Greg Davies attend the National Comedy Awards for. . . [ ] Stand Up To Cancer in London, England.
Due to the popularity of the series, Taskmaster House is iconic and is a character in her own right in the series. However, they managed to prevent the venue, redesigned for each season, from being flooded with fans.
“I think I can solve the mystery of why it doesn’t flood through people. That’s because it’s awful. It’s pretty dirty,” Davies said. “It’s a horrible, cold, lousy little position that I’m glad I don’t have. “to spend a lot of time. “
“Everyone who comes there will go. I can’t. I spent cash on a plane ticket to see this. “
Horne added, “He’s also adorable and adorable. We’re there year-round because we shoot almost constantly, but it’s also our office. We host parties there in the summer for the team and our kids. “
Do Davies and Horne have a task this season?
“I don’t really know any of them, but it has nothing to do with the show. It’s about my personal business,” Davies said with a laugh.
“We don’t because there are so many of them,” Horne said. “There were some that were on this big farm where they ran around and it was fun. There was a giant one from point to point.
Davies added: “Yes, I liked that the horses looked like a danger that none of us had bet on. “
“And Nick Mohammed dressed up as Dracula,” Horne concluded. “Let’s just say there’s a lot going on. “