Late May 2023 news round-up

Look, I know it's only been a week since the last news round-up post, but things just keep on moving along in the Extended Taskmaster Universe, so here are some more exciting updates from Denmark, Quebec, New Zealand, and the UK.

Stormester season 7 is coming early!

Until just a few days ago, it was being publicised that season 7 of Stormester would start airing from 23 June 2023. However, on 26 May 2023, an update was shared on the show's official Instagram account, sharing that the air date had been brought forward by a week.

The reason given for this, per BilledBladet.dk, is that 23 June 2023 is when the Sankt Hans Aften (St John's Eve) celebrations will be taking place across Denmark, to mark Midsummer's Eve, and that most people are therefore expected to be out attending a Sankthansbål - or Midsummer's bonfire - where the effigy of a witch is traditionally burned.

However, subscribers to Denmark's TV2 Play service don't even have to wait until the 16th of June, as the first episode will be available to stream from June 9th!

Cast revealed for Le Maître du Jeu season 2

The cast members for the second season of Quebec's Le Maître du Jeu were announced on 23 May 2023, as Kevin Raphaël, Marie-Lyne Joncas, Mona de Grenoble, Phil Roy, and Tammy Verge. Notably, three of these cast members (Kevin, Marie-Lyne, and Phil) are contributors to the radio show Véronique et les Fantastiques, led by Véronique Cloutier (wife of Louis Morissette). Other than that connection, here's a quick guide to who they are, and what they're best known for:

Kevin Raphaël

Kevin is a Quebecois comedian, presenter, podcaster, and actor. He is a presenter on the French-language sports specialty channel TVA Sports, a WWE wrestling commentator, and the founder of the Classique KR charity ice hockey game, which features professional athletes and entertainers. He also hosts the podcast Sans Restriction (Without Restriction), in which he chats with athletes and entertainers.

Marie-Lyne Joncas

Marie-Lyne is a Quebecois comedian, presenter, and actor who appears in the double act Les Grandes Crues, along with season 1 contestant Ève Coté. Since 2020, she has hosted Le Prochain Stand-up (The Next Stand-up) on Noovo and, in 2022, she began hosting the daily show Le Fabulous Printemps de Marie-Lyne (The Fabulous Spring of Marie-Lyne), also on Noovo. In 2023, she appeared as a contestant in the comedy game show LOL: Qui Rira Le Dernier? (the Quebecois adaptation of the Last One Laughing format).

Mona de Grenoble

Mona is a Quebecois drag queen, comedian, presenter and podcaster. In 2021, they appeared as a contestant on Le Prochain Stand-up (The Next Stand-up), and started hosting the Entre 2 Lèvres (Between 2 Lips) podcast. Since 2022, they have also hosted the talk show Mona, Femme de Cul(ture).

Phil Roy

Phil is a Quebecois comedian, actor, presenter, and entrepreneur. In 2018, he established his own comedy talent agency and, in 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the arts sector, he created the virtual comedy venue Wifi Comedy Club, through which over 60 comedians were able to continue performing. Between 2021 and 2022, he was the host of the Quebecois game show Qui Sait Chanter? (Who Can Sing?), based on the South Korean show I Can See Your Voice.

Tammy Verge

Tammy is a Quebecois actor, presenter, and comedian. In 2005, she was one of the founding members of the Quebec improv comedy collective Le P'tit Rire Jaune (The Li'l Yellow Laugh). In 2014 and 2015, she hosted the TV show Fous des Animaux (Crazy About Animals). In 2022, she appeared as The Professor in the film La Guerre Nuptiale (The Bridal War), and also appeared in various sketches in season 11 of the silent comedy sketch show LOL:-). She is also the partner of Le Maître du Jeu's Taskmaster's assistant, Antoine Vézina, which should make for some entertaining interpersonal dynamics.

Cast revealed for Taskmaster NZ season 4

On 27 May 2023, the cast for the fourth season of Taskmaster NZ was announced as Dai Henwood, Melanie Bracewell, Ray O’Leary, Sieni Leo’o Olo (aka Bubbah), and Karen O’Leary. Notably, all five of these individuals have recently appeared as contestants on the comedy panel show Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, hosted by Taskmaster NZ season 2 contestant Guy Montgomery, so go check that one out, if you want a preview of their characters. Other than that connection, here's a quick guide to who they are, and what they're best known for:

Dai Henwood

Dai is a New Zealand comedian, perhaps best known for serving as a team captain on TV3's weekly panel comedy show, 7 Days, between 2009 and 2021. He spent a period on TV3's Sunrise morning show, as the 'gadget guy', giving humourous reviews of the latest gadgets. He subsequently rose to prominence after hosting C4's Insert Video Here, and went on to host two series of a comedy travel show, Roll The Dai, on the same network. He also hosted two seasons of Dancing with the Stars, in 2018 and 2019.

Karen O’Leary

Karen is a New Zealand schoolteacher, comedian, and actor, best known for appearing as Officer O'Leary in the film What We Do in the Shadows (2014), and its TV spin-off show Wellington Paranormal (2018-2022). In 2020, she appeared as Principal Kathleen Morris in the web series The Eggplant. In 2022, she appeared as a contestant in season 22 of the NZ game show Treasure Island, remaining on the island for 20 days.

Melanie Bracewell

Melanie is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and scriptwriter. In 2016 and 2017, she worked alongisde the Taskmaster Jeremy Wells, and Taskmaster NZ season 2 contestant Matt Heath as a content producer on the Radio Hauraki breakfast show. She has appeared many times as a contestant on the NZ panel show 7 Days, and the Australian panel show Have You Been Paying Attention?. Between 2018 and 2022, she was a writer on the TV series Wellington Paranormal, and also appeared as the Romantic Goth in S01 E05, and the Fatberg Victim in S03 E06. In 2020, she received international attention when videos and photos of her impersonating then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern went viral. Since 2021, she has co-hosted the Australian comedy show The Cheap Seats. She also appeared as a recurring contestant on the NZ/Australian panel show Patriot Brains in 2022.

Ray O'Leary

Ray is a New Zealand comic, known for his deadpan delivery and iconic grey suit. He will already be familiar to fans of the show from having appeared as Josh Thomson's doppelganger in the eighth episode of Taskmaster NZ season 3. In New Zealand, Ray regularly appears and writes for the panel shows 7 Days and Have You Been Paying Attention?. He is also a regular on Australian TV, having appeared on Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Cheap Seats (for which he also serves as a writer), and Patriot Brains.

Sieni Leo’o Olo (aka Bubbah)

Sieni, more commonly known as Bubbah, is a Samoan-New Zealand comedian and actor. She first appeared on screen in 2020, in the Comedy Central Polynesian show Sis. The same year, she also appeared as Sam in the film Mama's Music Box. In 2022, she appeared as Sose in the TV show Duckrockers (a prequel to Sione’s Wedding). In 2023, she headlined the NZ International Comedy Festival’s comedy showcase The Comedy Mixtape (hosted by Taskmaster NZ season 3 contestant Kura Forrester).

Cast reveal for Taskmaster UK season 16 imminent!

With the final episode of season 15 of Taskmaster UK airing this week, it is anticipated that we will see an official announcement of the cast for season 16 immediately after the episode ends on 1 June 2023.

I have a confession, though: I already know who they are, and I'm ready to update the site to display their profiles immediately after the expected official announcement on Thursday! Come back then to find out more about the comedians we'll be watching struggling to solve silly tasks, later in 2023.

Casting underway for Junior Taskmaster

On 25 May 2023, the formal application process for contestants for the first series of Junior Taskmaster opened up via CastItReach.

Based on the details disclosed on the contestant application form, the show will be structured as a tournament, with the first five episodes each featuring five new contestants. It is presumed that the two highest-scoring contestants from each heat will then be seeded into a pair of semi-final episodes, from which the five highest-scoring contestants will qualify to compete in grand final, to decide the overall winner.

Casting for the series is currently open until 30 June 2023, with a shortlisting process which will lead to a one-day games workshop in London, scheduled for 15 July 2023.

Filming of the tasks for the tournament heats is scheduled to take place between September and November 2023, and filming of the live studio sessions for the heats is scheduled to take place in December 2023.

Filming of the tasks for the semi-finals and grand final are scheduled to take place in January 2024, with the live studio sessions for those stages scheduled to take place in early February 2024.

It's therefore now anticipated that the first series of this new member of the franchise is unlikely to air before mid-2024.