Taskmaster NZ

I watched the full NZ series as a UK version fan. Identical format, mixed bag of episodes with some hilarious moments. Paul the assistant was brilliant but the taskmaster was a little too relaxed (compared to Greg Davies). The women comedians were great v.fun. Cool set, props and space. I hope there's a next series.

I went in a bit skeptical, I love TM UK, but I just finished season one of NZ, and I love it, I'm hooked, I wish all of these comedians were my friend! Sooooo funny!

I like the NZ sense of humour. A bit dry and a bit sarcastic, combined with their accent (you can win hid) made this a great show. A few flat moments but mainly just brilliantly funny

Having watched Taskmaster in the UK from the beginning I approached Taskmaster NZ with some trepidation and was pleasantly surprised. With a population of only 5 million and viewing figures under 200k with a smaller pool of potential contestants I had to expect some effects of a lower budget than the UK version but I found the range of tasks just as innovative, the positive relationships between the contestants grow as each series progresses and in particular the Taskmaster and his assistant Paul have none of the frankly abusive, unpleasant and not very funny manner of Greg in the UK version towards Alex. Paul in Taskmaster NZ does come in for some stick but it is generally done in good humour. There may be more ad breaks and the humour levels are more adult with greater use of four letter words than the UK version.

I am a great fan of NZ anyway as a country even if the dialect often replaces "e" with "i"....

This is the second attempt to export Taskmaster from the UK. The US version was pc, tame and boring. New Zealand does one better. There is an attempt to translate the style and tone of the UK show, but it's lame. I don't want to offend the hosts, but they are trying too hard. New Zealand, you can do better: how about a female or indigenous taskmaster? That would be an interesting and relevant variation! Still, the challenges show some innovation and the comedians show some imagination and wit and the show is watchable, with some good laughs. Dear Alex Horne, if you are paying attention, I know that this is your baby, perhaps your best creation (most successful to date), but if you want it to grow, you have to let go a little, invite others to play with it and make it theirs: that will make it even more successful. What you are trying to do is the opposite of big brother, it can't be that formulaic, you need to make room for creativity and innovation.