By Nicolas Ayala
Taskmaster, the beloved British comedy panel show that has serendipitously blended improvisation, cleverness, and utter chaos since 2015, is stepping into its 19th season with a bombastic twist — and it’s not a task involving eggs, glitter, or makeshift catapults. It’s Jason Mantzoukas. That’s right, the American comedy stalwart known for playing wild cards like Rafi in The League and Adrian Pimento in Brooklyn Nine-Nine is not only a fan of the show, but now he’s a full-fledged participant, lobbing his frenetic energy into a format that’s rarely (if ever) seen from across the pond.
Jason Mantzoukas Isn’t Just a Contestant — He’s a Taskmaster Superfan Turned Player
What separates Mantzoukas’ involvement in Taskmaster from most guest appearances on genre-defining shows like Screen Rant-favored Marvel or DC panels? It’s pure fandom. As Mantzoukas himself admits in multiple interviews across Cracked, Collider, and NME, he binged the entire series on YouTube — beginning with a completionist’s zeal and ending in full immersion. He didn’t just watch the show; he studied it. He curated clips to turn friends into fans, tailoring the experience like a comedic sommelier: “If someone likes chaos, I show them Rhod Gilbert. If they like clever puzzles, I hit them with James Acaster.”
And now, he’s the only American-based contestant to ever travel to the U.K. specifically to film the show. Not as a guest. Not as a one-off. But as a full participant in the familial, tight-knit ecosystem that is the Taskmaster crew. Mantzoukas didn’t just infiltrate this world — he embraced it, taking three separate trips to England for task filming and studio segments, often watching his own task performances unfold live in front of an audience of 300, all while trying not to collapse into fanboy awe.
The Unique Structure of Taskmaster Creates a Layered Performance Experience
One of the most fascinating aspects of Taskmaster — and one that Mantzoukas digs into deeply — is the show's split between pre-recorded task packages and live studio performances. Contestants film the tasks in isolation, often without knowing how the others approach them, then reconvene months later to film the studio segments where they watch, react, and riff in real time. For Mantzoukas, this created a surreal double-consciousness: “I’d be doing a live show with an audience, and then we’d cut to a clip of me failing at a task. I’d become a viewer again, right in the middle of performing.”
This meta-layer of engagement is something Mantzoukas is uniquely suited for, given his background in live improv and podcasting. He describes the studio segments as “three-and-a-half-hour live comedy shows,” a format he’s comfortable with thanks to his work on How Did This Get Made? and Big Mouth. His ability to juggle task performance with on-the-fly comedic commentary turns the Taskmaster stage into something even more dynamic — a space where he’s not just completing tasks, but playing with the entire ecosystem of the show.
Playing the ‘Heel’ with Intentional Chaotic Energy
Mantzoukas didn’t just show up to play nice. He came with a game plan: be the villain, the chaotic American, the comedic anarchist. He told the producers he wanted to “bluff and bluster” and create “manic mischief,” and they welcomed it. And boy, did he deliver. Whether it was repeatedly trying to get on the roof despite being told not to, or inventing strategies just to subvert the tasks themselves, Mantzoukas embraced the spirit of the show by pushing it to its limits.
His goal wasn’t necessarily to win (though he doesn’t mind winning), but to elevate the comedy. In a show where points are arbitrarily assigned by a “giant who is petty and callous,” Mantzoukas’s mission was to make Alex Horne’s (the creator and assistant) job as difficult as possible. He even joked about wanting to inflict “grievous personal harm” on Horne, purely for the potential of an in-show origin story for future scars. It’s the kind of playful antagonism that Taskmaster thrives on — and that Mantzoukas was born to deliver.
Taskmaster: A Show About Creativity, Constraint, and Comedic Chemistry
What makes Mantzoukas’s season of Taskmaster especially poignant is how perfectly it aligns with the core DNA of the show. Taskmaster isn’t about winning games; it’s about how you play them. It’s about creativity under constraint, about turning mundane materials into absurd masterpieces, about clowning your way through a dart task without losing your grip on the audience. Mantzoukas, with his love for board games, improvisation, and comedic personas, fits into this world not as an outsider, but as a natural extension of it.
He even reflects on the casting of the show, praising how the producers assemble ensembles that complement each other — not compete. “As a seven-person ensemble doing a three-and-a-half-hour comedy show,” he says, “you have to be good at setting each other up. It’s a dance. And they nailed it.”
Leaving Taskmaster Behind Is Like Saying Goodbye to Summer Camp
Despite all the chaos and comedy, Mantzoukas’s time on Taskmaster is finite. Like many contestants, he felt that bittersweet “last day of camp” emotion on the final shoot. He got close to the cast, shared lunches, formed text groups — and now he’s left with the same feeling many heroes in long-running franchises know all too well: What do you do after the show that you loved, and that you gamed your way into being a part of, is over?
He says he’ll likely watch future seasons and text Greg Davies with comments on how he’d have done tasks differently. It’s not a regret — it’s a continued engagement from the fan to the show. And who knows? Maybe one day he’ll return as a champion, or just for the joy of playing again.
Taskmaster May Be About Silly Tasks, But It Reveals Deep Passion
Jason Mantzoukas’s journey to Taskmaster isn’t just a fun footnote in a comedy career filled with odd roles like Tommy Lee’s penis in Pam & Tommy and voice work in Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. It’s a testament to what fandom, passion, and the right creative fit can produce. It’s about loving a format so much that when given the chance, you step in not only to participate, but to honor it with everything you’ve got.
For fans of Marvel heroes who jump into the multiverse just for the thrill, or Fast & Furious cast members who slide into the franchise for one last ride, Mantzoukas’s Taskmaster experience is the same kind of sweet spot. It's where enthusiasm meets opportunity, and where the line between fan and creator beautifully blurs.
And that, in a world obsessed with wins and stats, is perhaps the most heroic thing of all.