“They’re not in it for the money!”: Tom Gleeson on Taskmasker Australia

Taskmaster Australia‘s Tom Gleeson, aided by ‘Lesser’ Tom Cashman, has kicked off another season on 10 with a fresh batch of comedians: Wil Anderson, Josh Thomas, Lloyd Langford, Anne Edmonds & Jenny Tian.

Gleeson answered these Q+A questions for TV Tonight.

Taskmaster seems to be all about ridiculousness versus reputation or is everyone just in it for the gig?

TG: Well, they’re not in it for the money, I can tell you that, because they all get paid the same and it’s not very much. So they’re all doing it for the fun, I think, especially Wil Anderson. I mean, he doesn’t really need to do this show but he’s doing it because he’s a big fan of the franchise and he’s wanted to be part of it.

How are the tasks devised and what’s the secret to the ones that work best?

TG: Tom Cashman is one of the writers of the tasks. There are some other writers as well who work on it. It’s also overseen by Alex Horne from the UK. But I reckon the secret to a really good task is that it seems so simple at the beginning but then there’s an extra twist. I think we saw a good version of that in episode one where getting chips out of a balloon seems like a fairly simple task, but it’s made even easier if you notice the extra clue which only one contestant noticed. Disappointingly, it was Wil Anderson. It’s not fun watching him do well.

Without giving spoilers, what can we expect to see this season and who surprised you?

TG: Josh Thomas surprised me with how irritating he was. I used to always stoush with him on Good News Week and I thought that he would have matured over the years, but I can confirm after doing this series, he hasn’t.

Do you look at the footage before taking to the big chair?

TG: Lesser Tom and I are privy to the footage before we go out onto the set. Usually it’s just to plan a few running jokes and just to make sure I knit everything together beautifully. But the comedians do not get to look at the footage which is why the show is so spontaneous.

Who’s the tougher host, Hard Quiz Tom or Taskmaster Tom?

TG: I think that they’re equally harsh. When I’m dealing with comedians though, it’s my aim to hopefully ruin their reputation by the end of the series. I’d like to say I succeeded doing that with Josh Thomas but he seems to be doing that to his own career without me helping.

Is this any way for a Gold Logie winner to conduct themselves on national television? TG: Absolutely.

Why a Caravan and why New Zealand?

TG: The New Zealand Taskmaster came before the Australian Taskmaster so I think that was just good production management. And the Caravan is just a nice cosy little place to shoot and it looks good on camera, I think that’s why.

Are commercial breaks a task you’ve set for the audience?

TG: To some degree. A few ABC viewers complained about the ad breaks and how they’re not going to watch it because of the ad breaks but then they forget that they can fast forward and that you can stream the show on Paramoun+, you silly old fools.

Last but not least, who would you love to get on the show in future seasons?

TG: Well, I just want to be very clear that this is a show for comedians. I do not want any personalities on the show if you know what I mean. I want comedians. People who perform comedy people who live comedy not people who are ‘kinda funny.’

Taskmaster Australia screens 7:30pm Thursday on 10.