‘Taskmaster’ Moved to CW Seed Streaming Service
After unceremoniously pulling “Taskmaster” from it schedule after only a single episode, the CW has found a new home for the U.K. acquisition.
Variety has learned that the full 10 episodes (series 8 in the U.K.) of “Taskmaster” which the CW acquired will now be available to stream for free on its CW Seed streaming service.
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The move comes less than a week after “Taskmaster” was dumped from the network’s Sunday schedule due terrible debut ratings.
Hosted by comedian Greg Davies and creator Alex Horne (who act as the titular taskmaster and the taskmaster’s assistant respectively), the show debuted to a 0.1 rating among adults 18-49 and only 212,000 viewers. While a 0.1 isn’t necessarily a disastrous number in comparison with CW’s other summer fare (its lead-in, Canadian acquisition “Fridge Wars,” scored the same rating), that total viewership figure is one of the lowest CW has managed in what is a cold summer for broadcast TV ratings overall.
Despite its inauspicious U.S. debut, “Taskmaster” has been an undeniable success across the pond, running for nine seasons on Dave, before it was snapped up by Channel 4 last year. Coincidentally, the show won the BAFTA for best comedy entertainment programme less than a week before it was dumped by CW.
In its place, CW is airing reruns of the fifteenth and final season of “Supernatural,” ahead of the debut of its very last episodes in the fall.
“Taskmaster” sees Davies and Horne issue simple comedic and bizarre tasks to five regular contestants – usually comedians. Each task is designed to encourage the players to think laterally and creatively. The series hails from Avalon, and is executive produced by Horne, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, James Taylor, Jon Thoday and Andy Devonshire. Hilary Rosen is an EP for UKTV.
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