Latest news with #JasonMantzoukas
CBC
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Why Jason Mantzoukas thought his 'big and brash' comedic persona would work on Taskmaster
When Jason Mantzoukas got the chance to appear on Taskmaster, one of his favourite TV shows, he didn't want to play along normally. He wanted to be the ugly American villain who creates chaos. Taskmaster is a long-running British panel game show that follows five comedians as they attempt to complete a series of unique and ridiculous challenges, which are then scored by comedian Greg Davies (the titular Taskmaster) in front of a live audience. "It is such a dumb, silly, funny show to watch," Mantzoukas tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview. "To explain it seems like a Byzantine series of roundabouts … when in reality, it is so dead simple: it's a comedy show. It's a comedy show masquerading as a game show." WATCH | Taskmaster Season 19, Episode 1: Though Taskmaster mostly features British and Irish comedians, Mantzoukas is not the show's first American contestant. He is, however, the first contestant to not be based in the U.K. at the time of filming. As a longtime fan of the show, the American actor and comedian reached out to creator Alex Horne to express his interest in appearing on the latest season (or series, as they say in the U.K.). His pitch, he says, was to be as combative and difficult as possible. A lot of the characters I play are lunatics and maniacs. - Jason Mantzoukas "My comedic persona is big and brash and, you know, it can be very outrageous," Mantzoukas says. "A lot of the characters I play are lunatics and maniacs…. I'm a heel, in wrestling terms. I am quite often taking shots, being a villain, and I felt like that would work on the show." At times, Mantzoukas drops the ugly American persona (he says all of the comedians occasionally drop their personas because they're genuinely having so much fun), but his Americanisms are always on full display. Throughout the show, he's regularly ribbed by Davies and Horne for his American pronunciation of words like "vase" and "route." "This happens throughout the whole series — or season — which is I'm saying an American pronunciation [and] they correct me with a British [pronunciation]," he says. "I don't know how many were edited out, but it gets played a lot because it works and it's always a surprise." During the COVID lockdowns of 2020, Taskmaster started uploading all of its episodes to YouTube, which helped the show become a global phenomenon. But the panel show format has never quite caught on across the pond in the U.S or English-speaking Canada. An American version of Taskmaster was created in 2018, but it only lasted one season. Mantzoukas thinks the reason why the American version of the show failed is due to structural changes that eliminated the "freewheeling banter" of the original show. "I don't think it was an audience problem," he says. "[Comedy Central] messed with the architecture of the show so much as to make it, I think, untenable…. I think Americans make the mistake of trying to apply too much structure and too much attention on points, when in reality the points are meaningless and the structure is loose. By focusing on structure and points, you strangle what's funny about it."
Scotsman
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
When is Taskmaster on? Channel 4 start time for s19 final
Taskmaster's series 19 final is set to take place - but when is it on? 👀 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Taskmaster will hold its series 19 final tonight. Channel 4 has confirmed the start time. But when exactly can you watch it? The final of Taskmaster series 19 is just a few hours away. Channel 4 will be broadcasting the conclusion to the season this evening. Greg Davies and Little Alex Horne will be casting an eye over this batch of contestants one last time. The series made history with the first American contestant. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But when exactly can you watch the final of season 19? Here's all you need to know: What to expect from the Taskmaster final? Taskmaster series 19 | Channel 4 The preview for the grand finale of series 19, via Radio Times, reads: 'The Grand Final finds each contestant choosing to celebrate in their own unique way. 'Rosie Ramsey puts a wooden box on her head, Fatiha El-Ghorri kicks in a door, Mathew Baynton threatens a puppy, and the team known as JV Martzoukas (aka Jason Mantzoukas and Stevie Martin) establishes a thriving local business. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'At the end of it all, Greg Davies crowns one of them as Taskmaster champion, while Little Alex Horne watches on knowing that his job is done for another series.' When is the Taskmaster final on? Channel 4 has confirmed that the Taskmaster grand final will start at 9pm tonight (July 3). The episode is scheduled to run for an hour and will finish at approximately 10pm. Who is in the line-up for Taskmaster series 19? It is quite the mix of comedians who are facing the Taskmaster judges this season. And for the very first time there is an American competing on the show. The full line-up includes: Fatiha El-Ghorri Jason Mantzoukas Mathew Baynton Rosie Ramsey Stevie Martin Where do you know the Taskmaster cast from? The line-up for series 19 includes plenty of familiar faces. But you might not be quite able to pinpoint where you recognise them from. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fatiha El-Ghorri If you are a regular watcher of Live at the Apollo on the BBC, then you may have seen Fatiha performing on it in the past. She was also part of the cast for the second series of the Dave comedy game show Outsiders in 2022. You may have also heard her on podcasts such as Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster as well as The Guilty Feminist. Jason Mantzoukas A familiar face in hit comedy shows over the last decade, Jason has had memorable roles in Brooklyn Nine-Nine - where he played Adrian Pimento - and The Good Place (as Derek Hofstetler). He also voices characters in Netflix's Big Mouth including Jay Bilzerian. For those with a longer memory, you may recall him as the wildcard character Rafi in The League. While he also had a role in the Sacha Baron Cohen film The Dictator - playing Nadal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mathew Baynton A familiar face to fans of British TV comedy, Mathew has been part of the cast for Horrible Histories, Yonderland and most recently Ghosts. He also starred in The Wrong Mans alongside James Corden in the early 2010s. Mathew also played the lead role of William Shakespeare in the 2015 film Bill. And he was Felix in the 2023 hit movie Wonka. Rosie Ramsey Rosie is best known for her podcast Sh**ged. Married. Annoyed which she co-hosts alongside her husband - fellow comedian - Chris Ramsey. The show has been a huge hit since releasing its first episode in 2019 and they have toured the UK with it in the past. Stevie Martin Stevie is a comedian, podcaster and actor who you may have seen on other popular panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats - also on Channel 4. She has also had roles in shows like the BBC/ HBO comedy Starstruck.
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Taskmaster' is a perfect summer show (and the funniest thing in decades)
I'd heard of Taskmaster before 2025. But it took Jason Mantzoukas to get me to watch beyond some random YouTube and social media clips. Taskmaster is a British show officially in its 19th series, though eight other specials have been produced. The premise brings five extremely funny people together to compete in a series of, uh, tasks. The tasks themselves are all wondrously stupid in bafflingly clever ways. Paint a picture despite not being let into the room where the canvas is. Sniff out a phone covered in cheese using only your sense of smell. A whole segment called the Pealympics in which everything revolves around doing things with peas (and, at one point, carrots) that would result in psychiatrists being called in had bystanders seen it in the wild. In the wrong hands, this would be a series of minor acts of cruelty. In the right ones, it's a series of minor acts of cruelty that happen to be hilarious. Mantzoukas is a longtime fan of the show and lobbied to be part of Series 19 -- by my count, the first to feature an American who didn't already live in Great Britain (Pete Volk has a wonderful interview with him here). He's joined by a cache of incredible talents who've yet to make a crossover impact in America; Fatiha El-Ghorri, Mathew Baynton, Rosie Ramsey and Stevie Martin. You may not have heard of these people, but they're about to take up valuable space inside your brain for this vital stretch between the end of NBA season and the beginning of NFL. Each of these comedians is funny in their own right. But mashed together in the stage show that frames each episode, they play off each other in an electric blend of hilarious energy, simmering frustration and shame. The tasks that tie these segments together are the canvas on which masterpieces of embarrassment are painted. Contestants know when to make cutting remarks. They understand when to let their peers dangle against the backdrop of illustrious failure. Everyone, and I cannot express this loudly enough, is crushing it. Each is content to be reduced to a pile of comedic rubble, reduced to the fact that trying to outsmart each task's illogical twist will often only make things more difficult. Everything gets the "yes, and" treatment to an effect exponentially higher than all the terrible improv we've suffered through at various undergraduate institutions in our lives. Taskmaster is a beautiful distraction. It's perfect summer calories, capable of working as a snack or a meal. Want to just watch a few clips? You could make a wonderful supercut of El-Ghorri's deadpan threats to her hosts (generally punctuated with a well-placed "bruv.") alone. Want to dive into the middle of an episode in the middle of the season? Great news; the lack of serialized structure means you're not missing much. Want to pound half the series in one night? There's no joke fatigue at play, because this is a cast of comedians who boost each other to new heights faced with a series of absurd tasks with no thread tying them together but the embarrassment of those trapped inside. I haven't laughed as hard at a television program since Arrested Development was fighting for oxygen on Fox. The producers of Taskmaster provided five comedians/actors a canvas of failure and stood back as they created a masterpiece. Everyone takes each task exactly as seriously as it demands, which is halfway between a gentle shrug and not at all. Each defeat is met with self deprecation or faux outrage, feeding that improv ethos until it becomes a funnel cloud. Series 19 ends soon. A winner will be crowned and it will not matter. What will is the fact Taskmaster has united one of the greatest comedic ensembles in television history to fail spectacularly at things like transporting vinegar, eating yogurt or doing something "cool," then convincingly doing said "cool" thing backward. Watch it live. Watch it delayed on YouTube whenever it suits you. Just watch it, because it's the funniest television I've seen in years.
New York Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Taskmaster' Is a Mischievous, Unpredictable British Panel Show
'Taskmaster' has long been one of my favorite shows, and among my favorite things about it is that there are no bad seasons. In each outing, five performers, mostly comedians, compete in a series of kooky challenges, then regroup in front of a studio audience to see how they've done. In addition to being silly and enchanting, 'Taskmaster' is breathtakingly novel: I'm amazed by its capacity to remain unpredictable to both its viewers and its participants. The gap between 'this is the best episode of the best season' and 'this is the worst episode of the worst season' is minuscule. That said, this season — Season 19 (19!) — is among the best of the best, and it's an ideal entree for new viewers. The American comedian Jason Mantzoukas is one of the contestants this season, and his gleeful maniac persona fits perfectly with the show's sense of mischief. He is also clearly a student of the game … not that it helps him win. The contestants most familiar with the workings of the show are no more likely to win a task than those least familiar, and no single virtue is more desirable than another. Nervous pedantry earns a certain amount of mileage, but a 'Cs get degrees' approach leads often to a faster, funnier conclusion. Brazenness and preciousness are equally valuable. Athleticism has its rewards, but defaulting to an athletic method can and does backfire. There are a lot of ways to be funny, and on 'Taskmaster' there are also a lot of ways to be smart. I was curious how the show would incorporate Mantzoukas's antic energy, but everything feels harmonious — and no one person is singing the melody. Mathew Baynton, the creator and a star of the original British version of 'Ghosts,' brings a twee braininess, and the comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri's impeccable timing and tough-girl shtick add warmth, raunch and surprise. Stevie Martin's sweet openness and Rosie Ramsey's grounded wit keep everything in balance. Seasons 9-19 on are on the show's YouTube channel, with new episodes of Season 19 arriving weekly on Fridays. And if you burn through all those, seek out the international versions. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Scotsman
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Taskmaster cast: who is in series 19
Full cast for Taskmaster series 19 and where you know them from 📺 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Taskmaster features some familiar faces in Series 19. It includes the show's very first American. But where do you know the cast from? Taskmaster is back with another episode in a matter of hours and the comedians will face their first team task. The line-up was announced earlier this year but fans are finally getting to see them in action. Channel 4 has confirmed the start time for the latest instalment from Series 19. Find out how you can watch it today (May 8). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Greg Davies and Little Alex Horne will be casting their eyes over another batch of comedians this season. But who is taking part in series 19? Who is in the line-up for Taskmaster series 19? It is quite the mix of comedians who are facing the Taskmaster judges this season. And for the very first time there is an American competing on the show. The full line-up includes: Fatiha El-Ghorri Jason Mantzoukas Mathew Baynton Rosie Ramsey Stevie Martin Where do you know the Taskmaster cast from? Taskmaster series 19 | Channel 4 The line-up for series 19 includes plenty of familiar faces. But you might not be quite able to pinpoint where you recognise them from. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fatiha El-Ghorri If you are a regular watcher of Live at the Apollo on the BBC, then you may have seen Fatiha performing on it in the past. She was also part of the cast for the second series of the Dave comedy game show Outsiders in 2022. You may have also heard her on podcasts such as Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster as well as The Guilty Feminist. Jason Mantzoukas A familiar face in hit comedy shows over the last decade, Jason has had memorable roles in Brooklyn Nine-Nine - where he played Adrian Pimento - and The Good Place (as Derek Hofstetler). He also voices characters in Netflix's Big Mouth including Jay Bilzerian. For those with a longer memory, you may recall him as the wildcard character Rafi in The League. While he also had a role in the Sacha Baron Cohen film The Dictator - playing Nadal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mathew Baynton A familiar face to fans of British TV comedy, Mathew has been part of the cast for Horrible Histories, Yonderland and most recently Ghosts. He also starred in The Wrong Mans alongside James Corden in the early 2010s. Mathew also played the lead role of William Shakespeare in the 2015 film Bill. And he was Felix in the 2023 hit movie Wonka. Rosie Ramsey Rosie is best known for her podcast Sh**ged. Married. Annoyed which she co-hosts alongside her husband - fellow comedian - Chris Ramsey. The show has been a huge hit since releasing its first episode in 2019 and they have toured the UK with it in the past. Stevie Martin Stevie is a comedian, podcaster and actor who you may have seen on other popular panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats - also on Channel 4. She has also had roles in shows like the BBC/ HBO comedy Starstruck. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
