List #97: Ranking Taskmaster Cohorts, Ultimate Countdown! (Part 1 of 3)

During this pandemic, I've seen lots of people discover the UK delight Taskmaster, brainchild of Alex Horne. As someone who, over the course of the past four years, has steadily made her way through every available iteration and offshoot (you realize most of these people have podcasts, right?), I say, "Welcome!"

See also: Rec. #696, Rec. #731, List #71, Rec. #858, Rec. #873, List #95

Many casts have now had the absurd and joyful Taskmaster experience, and I have thoughts on all of them. 

Let's count down! We're starting from the weakest series/seasons, but even those are great! See Part 2 here and Part 3 here. Top 5 are coming on Thursday.

14. New Year Treat (aired between Series* Ten and Eleven): John Hannah, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Nicole Coughlan, Rylan Clark-Neal, Shirley Ballas

Perfectly fine, but just one episode.

13. Series* Ten: Daisy May Cooper, Johnny Vegas, Katherine Parkinson, Mawaan Rizwan, Richard Herring

Filmed during the pandemic. Thank the gods for the raucous laughter of Daisy May Cooper and Johnny Vegas.

12. Series Three: Al Murray, Dave Gorman, Paul Chowdhry, Rob Beckett, Sara Pascoe 

Very fond of Chowdhry, Beckett, Pascoe. Can't stand Murray or Gorman.

11. U.S. Version (season 1 and only): Dillon Francis, Freddie Highmore, Kate Berlant, Lisa Lampanelli, Ron Funches

Look, they tried. Not nearly as bad as you've heard!

10. Series Nine: David Baddiel, Ed Gamble, Jo Brand, Katy Wix, Rose Matafeo

A very solid run! Especially considering that Baddiel and Brand could not have cared less, Gamble and Matafeo maybe cared too much, and Wix had to be subbed two episodes because of a health issue.

*Reminder that "Series" in UK = "Season" in US