March 2023 news round-up

There’s been a lot of Taskmaster-related news, over the past couple of weeks, so here’s a quick round-up.

Taskmaster UK series 15 air date and trailer

On 15 March 2023, early press images for the first episode of series 15 were published on Channel 4's website, indicating that the season would begin airing in 'week 13', i.e. on 30 March 2023. The following day, this air date was officially confirmed, and the following trailer for the series was also released:

Taskmaster UK renewed up to series 21

On 15 March 2023, it was announced that Channel 4 had commissioned an additional six seasons of Taskmaster UK, which takes us up to series 21, presumably airing in late 2025. It was not disclosed in the announcement whether the new commission included annual New Year's Treat specials, or the anticipated Champion of Champions III special.

Addition of Junior Taskmaster to franchise

As part of the news that six additional series of Taskmaster UK had been commissioned, it was also announced that a new version of the show, Junior Taskmaster, was currently in production. Aimed at kids, and featuring contestants between the ages of 9 and 11, the first series of this show will reportedly consist of eight episodes. Neither Greg nor Alex will be appearing on the show in their usual roles, but the identities of the new hosts, and an air date, are yet to be announced.

Taskmaster PT season 2 begins

We’ve known for some time that a second season of Taskmaster PT would be starting soon, but the start date for the season, and the identities of the weekly guest contestants, had not been released. On 11 March 2023, the following teaser trailer for the season was released on Nuno Markl's Instagram:

Two days later, it was publicly confirmed, via the official Taskmaster PT Instagram, that the season would begin airing on 18 March, and that the guest contestant in the first episode would be the football commentator Cândido Costa. That same day, Nuno Markl also shared the following teaser trailer for the first episode:

It appears that the guest contestants for each episode of the season will only be announced in the week leading up to each episode, rather than them all being announced in advance.

It has also been confirmed that the third season of the show, which has already begun production, will feature a completely new panel of fixed contestants. The air date for the third season has not yet been announced but, given how early production has begun, it’s possible that it could air in late 2023, rather than early 2024.

Atle Antonsen to return as ‘King’ of Kongen Befaler

On 17 March 2023, it was reported that Atle Antonsen would be returning as the host of the eighth season of Kongen Befaler, having been cleared of the criminal charge against him.

Reactions from fans of the show have been mixed, with many welcoming Atle’s return, while others say they either feel it is too early for a comeback, or that they have preferred Bård Ylvisåker’s approach to the role. In any case, it seems as if Bård’s stint in the throne would only ever have been temporary anyway, since he and his brother, Vegard, have reportedly signed a deal with the competing channel, TV2.