Kongen Befaler

Kongen Befaler is the Norwegian version of the British TV show Taskmaster, produced by Nordisk Banijay since season 2, and broadcast on discovery+ and TVNorge.

The Taskmaster role is held by Atle Antonsen, except for in season 7, when it was held by season 1 contestant Bård Ylvisaker.

The assistant role is held by Olli Wermskog.

Alternate names

• On Sweden's SVT Play service, this show was titled 'Bäst i test Norge' (Best in Test Norway).
• On Australia's SBS On Demand service, this show is titled 'Taskmaster Norway'.

Contestant notes

• The panel consists of five fixed contestants per season.
• The only case of return contestants so far has been the return of season 1 contestants Calle Hellevang-Larsen and Maria Stavang in season 2. According to show producer Bjørn Håvard Mittet, of Nordisk Banijay, these contestants returned for a second season at Discovery's request, as both of them are affiliated with the network. However, five former contestants are also due to return for a four-episode special mini-season, which is currently in production, as of late 2023.
• Contestants are not seated in alphabetical order on stage, but instead seated with the intent of getting the best possible dynamics between them, according to Bjørn.
• Contestants have remained seated in the same order throughout their seasons except for in season 3, which was recorded without an audience. According to Bjørn, the production team wanted to test whether changing the seating order would have any effect on the dynamics between them, so switched them around from episode to episode, during this season.

Team task notes

• There were no team tasks in this version of the show until season 6.
• According to show producer Bjørn Håvard Mittet, the reason for the absence of team tasks until this point was largely due to social distancing requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, team tasks have not become a regular occurrence in more recent seasons.

Tie-break notes

• There are no tie-breakers in this version of the show. Episodes with tied scores are left as draws, with the contestants sharing the prize pool.
• According to show producer Bjørn Håvard Mittet, the reason for the absence of tie-breakers is partially down to the tight filming schedule for the live studio segments (90 minutes per episode), and partially down to the feeling that the tie-breakers would not add much value to the episode. He notes, though, that some live studio tasks have had tie-breaker rounds included within them, and that a tie-breaker was also used in the cancelled 2022 Christmas special.

Prize notes

• A prize pool is established for each episode from items brought in by contestants for the prize task.
• Instead of just being shown on screen, the contestants' items are revealed on stage from beneath red cloth.

Awards notes

Kongen Befaler has received the following awards:

• Gullruten TV award in the category of Best Entertainment Programme (2020 & 2022)
• Gullruten TV award in the category of Best Comedy Programme (2024)

Other notes

• The show's title translates into English as "The King Commands", and is the Norwegian name of the game Simon Says.
• At the end of art tasks, the contestants typically present their creations in the studio, rather than just an image of the work appearing on screen.
• Except for in the very first episode of the first season, and in the live tasks in the second season, the task briefs are always read out by Olli Wermskog, the Taskmaster's assistant, rather than one of the contestants.