All 20 Taskmaster Series Ranked (2024 update!)

Task #2021.4: rank all series of British TV show Taskmaster from worst to best.

Nobody watches Taskmaster for the educational value. There is nothing to be gained academically from seeing five celebrities sweat it out in a house, trying to figure out how to finish tasks, while disapproving Taskmaster Greg Davies and his loyal assistant Alex Horne (the real brains behind the show) judge them in the studio. Lateral thinking is a possible outcome, but if you’re the sort who looks at entertaining TV series and tries to pick something out of it, you really need to start getting a life. Or you’re a fan like me. (I recognize that the two are not mutually exclusive.) The question I ask myself, though, is: is there some way to turn this fandom into something constructive? Surely there is something positive to be squeezed out of my obsession with this kitschy, small-budget TV show?

Behold, I humbly submit my personal list of rankings of all series. These are purely subjective, and if you’re interested in talking about it I welcome civilized discussion in the comments. If you’re here to look for a place to start watching, the ones in the top half are ALL pretty great; or if you really want to separate the wheat from the chaff try anything from 4th place onwards. I’ve finished my task — yours is to see for yourselves.

Your time starts now. (Minor spoilers below, you have been warned, etc, etc.)

Now with jumps!
The Meh | The Interesting | The Good
The Great | The Awesome

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20. Series 1 (2015)

A classic case of early instalment weirdness, this one gets a lot of credit for the sole reason that Romesh Ranganathan can be seen throwing a watermelon to the ground in the first episode. Scratch beyond that, though, and you find only a vaguely amusing show: the dynamics are not well-established, the energy is low as hell, and most damningly of all, everyone spends ages trying to figure out whether the action they’ve just seen — watching Alex eat toothpaste, for instance — is supposed to be funny. Loads of people like to complain about contestants who don’t know what they’re doing: this grand tradition begins with Roisin Conaty, the grandmother of them all. I know it’s a bit harsh to judge it based on how awkward everything is, but seriously. It’s all very boring, and possibly the only series I try to actively avoid.

Favourite task: “Paint a picture of a horse, while riding a horse.” (episode 1)
MVP: Romesh Ranganathan (“TREE WIZARD!”)

19. Series 3 (2016)

To be clear, this one is perfectly serviceable on its own. And that’s the whole point: I don’t really like this series because of how average and forgettable it all is. For every series, I can name at least two or three tasks that I loved in. This one didn’t have any — the most I remember is Rob Beckett cackling madly, but he does that for everything he’s in anyway. Everyone just seemed to be stuck on one setting too — Paul is grumpy, Dave is polite, Al is rich and so on. Of course, five episodes is not enough for us to get to know all of them well, and the format is partly to blame for the series being meh. But I do not watch this series for ennui, and I’d only watch it if all other series had been wiped from existence.

Favourite task: “Surprise Alex when he emerges from the shed after an hour.” (episode 2)
MVP: A bit hard to choose — everyone’s equally average. Oh alright, Paul Chowdhry then.

18. Series 8 (2019)

Yes, this contains probably my favourite task in all the series — the railway yard hide-and-seek is probably the best thing to have ever happened in the whole show — but it goes downhill from there: awkward pairings, lacklustre banter and distinctly uninteresting tasks with few stakes. But the biggest problem is how forced it all feels — I know that every contestant needs to have at least one win here, but in the case of Joe Thomas’ winning episode this is engineered so blatantly that Joe’s win felt hollow, something gained through the producers’ machinations more than Joe’s own merits. I also found myself actively disliking Iain Stirling’s behaviour on the series: he’s what I think of when I imagine white, privileged arseholes who can’t bear losing to someone else. Thank God for series 9 afterwards.

Favourite task: “Sneak up on Alex.” (episode 1)
MVP: Joe Thomas

17. Series 6 (2018)

Unfairly maligned as one of the worst instalments of Taskmaster — I actually had to comb the official YouTube channel to find a clip from this series — this one actually is quite serviceable when you come to take them task by task. It’s a story of contrasts: Asim, Liza and Tim make for a great team, even though Alice and Russell are evidently the more competent ones; Alice is the bubbly cynic while Asim is the scrappy fighting his way up. But I agree with the general consensus that it gets boring later on, as panellists hit the same note over and over again, with only the occasional zany moment saving them. Instead, this one sticks out in my mind most for the development of Greg and Alex’s relationship — who can forget the rapturous moment when they actually, finally, kissed? In any case, while the entry above demonstrates why you need longer series, this one demonstrates why 10 episodes isn’t necessarily a good idea either.

Favourite task: “Write a bedtime story for grown-ups.” (episode 3)
MVP: Liza Tarbuck

16. Champion of Champions I (2017)

This series was clearly an afterthought of sorts: created on a whim just as an excuse to milk the five champions being together in one room and make them go through the same thing again; what I appreciate about it is how hard you have to look to recognize this. Yes, I can’t remember anything about these people except Bob Mortimer, but they don’t skip a beat in reminding me just why they have been crowned champions of their respective series (except Bob, who with every single thing he does makes me wonder why he did win his series). Unfortunately there are a few clunkers in this one that don’t gel the harder you look, and Katherine’s approach to “the biggest mess” task struck me as just a step too far. To date, it’s the only task which I haven’t watched in full even once. The drama’s just too much, you know?

Favourite task: “Write down a word beginning with T every time Alex blows his whistle.” (live, episode 1)
MVP: Bob Mortimer (obviously)

15. Series 2 (2016)

This series and its tasks are constantly cited as the prime example of what Taskmaster is about, and though I don’t agree with this idea in full (see my 4^th place for that) I do see how a case can be made for it. After all, this is the one where contestants begin to think out of the box: when people begin to realize that you can swerve and break the rules, their internal conflict and the lengths they’re willing to go to be creative pull this series out of the dumps of series 1. But if you want to argue for this series as textbook Taskmaster, though, look no further than Joe Wilkinson’s infamous sudden disqualification, which dropped him squarely into last place, and endangered his marriage certificate. It’s the first instance where the stakes are significantly heightened, and you realize the key thing that has glued me to this show ever since: anything can happen.

Favourite task: “Create a video for a nursery rhyme.” (episode 2)
MVP: Jon Richardson

14. Series 10 (2020)

A confession: when I first wrote up this list I thought series 10 was great, deserved to be up there in the top 5. Two years on, the recency bias has worn off, and I’ve found myself pushing this series further and further down the list. It’s not that it’s BAD or anything — if anything, this series is a testament to Alex’s ability to come up with new tasks and make use of the bigger budget he’s been allotted since the move to Channel 4. But the overwhelming sense I get from this series is one of relief: relief that the sudden imposition of a pandemic has not seriously crippled the show, relief that audiences are responding well to the new format, and relief that Katherine Parkinson, bless her heart, is braving her endless humiliations nicely. Which is all very well for a normal television show — but from Taskmaster, one learns to expect a little more than slapstick humour and awkward relief.

Favourite task: “Silently make the tastiest and prettiest cocktail with the best name.” (episode 6)
MVP: Katherine Parkinson (by a country mile)

13. Series 13 (2022)

The first post-pandemic series was warmly received with a sigh of relief by the community; perhaps because everyone was so close to each other, it felt a little more intimate, and the eclectic cast certainly makes this series a warm and inviting watch. (The only weak link is perhaps Ardal O’Hanlon, who perhaps struggled to balance the sniping at other contestants with his doddering old man persona; that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy his presence though.) The tasks, too, are inspired: the simplicity of “learn Swedish” or “make all of these things happen at the same time” is just lovely. But I just don’t get that big a rise out of it all — everyone’s competent, but there isn’t the kind of joy or confounding of expectations that other series were better at. (Of note, Alex’s attempts at twists proved a bit too complex for me. I’m a simple man who just wants some laughs, this complicated mind-gaming isn’t my thing.)

Favourite task: “Taking it in turns, roll a tyre down the Knappett.” (live, episode 4)
MVP: Judi Love

12. New Year Treats (2021-2024)

The most common complaint I read about these one-off specials is that they give us too little time with the contestants: one can easily imagine Claudia Winkleman or Amelia Dimoldenberg bringing their awkward charm or cloud-cuckoolander antics to a whole ten-episode series, and seeing their characters slowly develop. And I always think that Greg is fawning a little too much when it comes to these specials (fair enough, given that they’re all much more famous than he is), which takes away a bit of the fun. But with that said, it’s easy to gratefully accept what little time we spend with these scintillating personalities, who as time goes by have been put to increasingly good use. And hey: if we can have Adrian Chiles crawling on a gravel driveway in his underwear, then I’m not going to complain about how quickly I forget about these people — it’s living in the moment that’s the key.

Favourite task: “Turn your chosen ball into a head. Your new head must be the head of one of your fellow contestants.” (live, 2022)
MVP: Mo Farah

11. Champion of Champions II (2022)

This really is exactly what it says on the tin: an episode’s worth of former Contestants fooling around, occasionally reminding you why they won their series (which, coming 18 months after the airing of series 10, is very welcome). The tasks are a little more inspired than the previous attempt at CoCs, and the contestants are a little more evenly matched — but the whole episode is really just one long Greek tragedy for Ed Gamble, who starts the episode off at the top of his game and then slowly devolves into a frustrated, angry mess that is somehow also a thing of beauty. (You need to have something of a sadistic streak to be a Taskmaster viewer.) Otherwise, this is a perfectly serviceable coda to the five series at hand: interesting answers to interesting problems, a light laugh in a heavy year — and that’s no mean feat for a show that’s getting close to 120 episodes.

Favourite task: “Cut holes in and create a scene on this board. Most wonderful scene wins.”
MVP: Ed Gamble

10. Series 4 (2017)

And here is the other factor that has kept me a loyal fan to Taskmaster all these years. I was already biased towards Hugh Dennis the moment I realised he was part of this series; what surprised me was how much I liked the other contestants by the end of the whole thing. To be fair, the ability of the contestants to be endearing despite their serious flaws is made easy here: they are almost always friendly with each other — how can you be mean to bubbly Mel Giedroyc? — and there’s no sense of urgency about the whole thing even as they continue to deliver the laughs and chuckles. It’s Taskmaster for the slow living. And that’s ultimately what also limits this series: it’s a warm bath, rather than a shock to the system that elicits strong gasps from the sofa.

Favourite task: The bathtub task (team, episode 5)
MVP: Hugh Dennis

9. Series 15 (2023)

Where do you go, after eight years and fourteen series of television? If you’re Alex Horne, then perhaps you go ambitious — series 15 gives us the most complex Taskmaster so far, what with almost all the tasks requiring three sentences to describe or the usage of numerous unwieldy props. Generally speaking it adds up to a satisfying product: the sadist in me enjoyed watching the contestants struggling to wrap their head around all the rules, and then their horror as they discovered the shortcut/surprise long after they’d finished. But the longevity of the series also means that there are fewer shocks and less character development: for example, I saw the Eton- and Oxford-educated Ivo Graham appear, thought “oh he’s going to be the polite but incompetent one”, and was proved correct. It made for what I can only call “predictable Taskmaster”: lovely viewing in its own right, but playing to its own strengths — and from this TV show, I can’t help but expect a little more.

Favourite task: The accent imitation task (episode 7)
MVP: Ivo Graham (“please, please, PLEASE!”)

8. Series 5 (2017)

It is a testament to Taskmaster‘s quality that THIS is the cut-off point for what I would call a “great” series. I have said that anything can happen on this show, but imagine my surprise when renowned actress Sally Phillips demolished all decorum and started stuffing cake down Alex’s armpits while giggling like she was having the time of her life (and given that she was going through a divorce at the time, it probably was). From there on it only gets more chaotic: Bob Mortimer discussing his pooing habits, Aisling and Alex’s deadpan reactions to a jelly sliding down a pole, and Sally’s water cooler moment — everything this lot does just sends sparks flying, and this show is all the better for it. Taskmaster, at its heart, is not about people performing tasks: it’s about how people interact in a bigger world while showing how they can be individuals with complex characters. For its simultaneously elegant and messy depiction of this fact, this series vaults its way into greatness.

Favourite task: “Create the best splat.” (team, episode 2)
MVP: Bob Mortimer (“do we strike you?”)

7. Series 12 (2021)

Okay, I admit it, I have a huge celebrity crush on Morgana Robinson, and that led to me seriously overestimating this series when it first came out. Rewatching the series, there are some things that just don’t click or just seem downright odd (it was very odd to see Alex corpse at things that only elicited mild titters from me, when he was so good at looking stoic/confused in previous series). In my defence, however, I maintain that this is a very enjoyable series, full of people being alternately brilliant and weird; from Alan Davies’ bemusement to Guz Khan’s non-sequiturs, this is still a joy to watch, and “we have defeated the format of your show” still stands as one of the most supremely awesome boasts of the entire show — and yes, Morgana is still my favourite Taskmaster contestant ever. She’s just so talented and gorgeous.

Favourite task: “Prevent Alex from scoring a goal.” (episode 5)
MVP: Morgana Robinson

6. Series 16 (2023)

Is it just me, or has second-guessing people become a centrepiece of this show? Alex seems to have turned on the psychological aspect of this show for this series, which has resulted in tasks like “get underneath the most unique things” becoming a frequent feature. I’m not sure about this latest development — sometimes it feels like an attempt just to heighten the stakes — but in any case the love and support between castmates, on a level not seen since series 12, gives series 16 a beating heart while mostly keeping the high-octane thrills that define a great series. Occasionally that balance falls apart (“avoid the rubbish robots” was a very predictable task that unfolded in a very predictable way) but if Alex is still giving us TV this good eight years and 148 episodes in, I’ll take what I can get.

Favourite task: “Convince a child you’re asleep.” (episode 8)
MVP: Susan Wokoma

5. Champion of Champions III (2024)

Maybe it’s just cause series 11, 12 and 14 are all amongst my favourite series, but I found this one-off episode to be much, much better than Taskmaster’s two previous attempts at reuniting the champions. The madness has ticked up significantly: Sophie and Dara are giving off wonderful “I don’t give a damn but also I’m here to win it” energy, Sarah is still as much of an ace as ever, and of course I only needed one cheeky grin from Morgana Robinson for my two-year-old crush to spontaneously reignite into a roaring fire. (I’ve a sneaking suspicion that it’s a crush the editor for this episode shares as well.) Perhaps the most surprising thing here was Alex’s attitude: this episode showed a meanness that he must have been bursting to let out after years of abuse from contestants, and I for one am here for it.

Favourite task: “Do something really stupid.” (was there ever any doubt?)
MVP: Dara Ó Briain (I’m sorry Morgana!)

4. Series 11 (2021)

From the moment I finished episode 1, I was already resisting the temptation to compare. They always say you need time to cool down after a series, and there’s always the fear that you’ll get caught up in the heat of the moment, and lose all sense of objectivity. But there’s no helping it: this series is just an irresistible bundle of joy. From Mike Wozniak’s continual barrage of verbal wordplay to Sarah Kendall’s endless capabilities (she proves that simply excelling in every task can be sexy too) to Charlotte Ritchie herself, only rarely does this series careen off the rails and leave you dazed and confused. Unfortunately this series also relied heavily on the squick factor — Mike’s “absolute casserole”, Jamali’s attempt at a Russian doll meal, and most disgustingly Lee Mack’s spittle and poppadom mix cascading down the front of his beard. Shame, really. This really stood a chance of usurping series 7 before that last incident happened.

Favourite task: “Record the greatest aircraft safety announcement and perform the greatest safety demonstration.” (episode 8)
MVP: Charlotte Ritchie (“wheeeee!”)

3. Series 7 (2018)

Let this series show that Alex Horne is truly a genius. The tasks themselves are nothing special — with every rewatch (my third this winter) I notice just how many of these tasks are mundane and threaten to tip into boredom. But Alex knows that the key to a good series is having a good cast, and it’s in the interplay between the plainness of the tasks and the lengths to which everyone is willing to complete them that perfect comedy is born. Every single person has something to grab your attention this series: the fury of James Acaster, the determination of Kerry Godliman, and of course Phil Wang’s… um, costume. But it’s Rhod Gilbert’s no-shits-given rampage through the series that ensures that I keep coming back: the man is already pure chaos, but it’s the effortless way with which he takes everything to the extreme that makes this pure entertainment — and shows Alex Horne’s genius in between the humiliations.

Favourite task: “Tie yourself up as securely as possible.” (episode 10)
MVP: Rhod Gilbert

2. Series 9 (2019)

The received wisdom about series 7 is that it contains one of the most stellar casts in the history of the show. But take it from me that series 9 is better. Yes, you do not have anyone as freewheelingly insane as Rhod Gilbert. But everyone here does their part to make this as unexpected as possible: Rose and Ed’s endless healthy rivalry, Katy’s cloudcuckoolander tendencies, and Jo Brand just not giving a damn about anything. You already know the results, and yet these five people are so engaging that you just lean forward all the time, eager to see what comes next (and fearing for the mental health of anybody who comes into contact with David Baddiel). When Katy Wix disappears for two episodes, you’re acutely aware of her absence despite the wondrous performance of her substitutes. Coupled with Alex’s taskwriting being the best it’s ever been before and since, series 9 is just pure thrill ride, twist after twist, excitement after giddy excitement, from start to finish.

Favourite task: “Complete the adventure. You may only open one task after completing the previous.” (episode 2)
MVP: Rose Matafeo

1. Series 14 (2022)

As regular readers of this list will have noticed, updates to this list have been slow and not altogether frequent. Part of this is due to my job, which gives me significantly less time to watch the show; but another reason is that I want to give my opinions some time to settle. Recency bias is a huge thing for me; I thought that series 10 and 12 were the best ones (or at least among them) when they came out, and look where they’ve landed now. (Also, writing these paragraphs takes work.) So I put off ranking series 14 – surely my initial feelings about it were just another symptom of recency bias? Surely I was just too starved for Taskmaster content?

But with so many more series gone by, I can put it off no longer: series 14 has to be the best series of the show. The aesthetic theme for this series was “carnival”, which the dictionary reminds us can have two meanings: it can be a funfair full of revelry and humour, or it can be a chaos where identities are subverted and the natural order is challenged. Both of these interpretations came to the fore in this series: we had a cast that subverted all our expectations of them, and we had an assortment of tasks that ensured joy to no end.

I’ll start with the cast first: I never thought that the awkward energy of John Kearns would work so well with the cloud-cuckoo-landism of Fern Brady, but they gel together, really, really well; same goes for Munya Chawawa and Sarah Millican, whose streetwise natures seem at odds on paper but are a perfect fit in practise. Score-wise, none of them stood a chance against the freewheeling spirit of Dara Ó Briain, but all four of them made convincing cases as to being the standout of the series. But none of them would have shone so well if it wasn’t for the synchronicity between the tasks and the location: I squealed when Alex announced that he’d rented out “Gatwick Airport’s south terminal for a laugh”, and was even more delighted to discover that he had used so many corners of the Airport so well. With devious and cleverly designed tasks, no series used a location as effectively as series 14 did; my hat goes off to the production team for finding a place that was normally full of potential and opportunities, and then not wasting a single corner of it.

I have no idea how long series 14 will be at the top of my list. Maybe I’ll take it off the top next year and banish it to a mid-table placing; it certainly seems plausible with my carnival of a mind. But then again, that’s Taskmaster for you: a transient place where fortunes can be reversed in a single heartbeat, and where the only thing that matters is joy — but oh, what beautiful things these people have brought us in the meantime.

Favourite task: “Make the Taskmaster say your words.” (live, episode 2)
MVP: seriously, you’re asking me to CHOOSE between these wonderful people?

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I’ll update this list as new series air — see you round here when series 17 pops up! (TWO MORE YEARS. HOORAY)