Cast, Airdate & Where To Watch

Get ready to pay attention to every detail and look for all the hidden twists you can, because Taskmaster Australia Season 2 is coming soon, with the Logie-nominated TV show recently announcing the cast of comedians for the highly anticipated sequel season. And at least one of them has said they’re competing for “retribution”.

Based on the UK television hit of the same name, Taskmaster Australia first arrived on screens in 2023 thanks to Network 10 and was an instant hit. The initial series was hailed by fans and critics as an adaption of the format worthy of the title, and scheduled for a second and third.

If you haven’t seen it before, Taskmaster features a bunch of comedians forced to complete confusing and wacky tasks. They compete against and with each other, and the person who rates their performance is a cruel and unforgiving judge.

So let’s dive into the cast of faces we’ll get to see bleed, sweat, and cry as they compete for comedy glory in Taskmaster Australia Season 2, as well as where and when you can watch it.

Table Of Contents:

Who is the Taskmaster Australia Season 2 cast?

The five comedians who will be competing for fame, glory, and a golden bust of Tom Gleeson‘s head in Taskmaster Australia Season 2 are Anne Edmonds, Jenny Tian, Josh Thomas, Lloyd Langford, and Wil Anderson.

The funny five will be forced to follow the rigorous instructions of Taskmaster Australia’s host and ‘fair’ judge Gleeson, and the Taskmaster’s Assistant, “lesser Tom” Cashman.

Here’s more about each member of the Taskmaster Australia Season 2 cast:

Josh Thomas

Josh Thomas has been a darling boy of the Australian comedy scene ever since he won RAW Comedy in 2005 at the age of 18. He’s since done a million things, but you might recognise him from the award-winning ABC show Please Like Me, Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, or those Optus “Yes” ads from 2014.

He is also credited as the person who informed politician Bob Katter of the dating app Grindr on an episode of Q+A.

@joshthomasboy This was on #QandA 9 years ago! When I was so brave! #AusPol #ABCtv #lgbt🌈 ♬ original sound – Josh Thomas

Josh said that he approached his season of Taskmaster Australia with zero strategy, but has watched almost every episode of the UK series.

“I didn’t really have a game plan. I just knew that I wanted to win – and had decided to ignore the cameras and try my best. I think the show is better if the comedians are really, really trying. So I really tried my little heart out!” Josh told told PEDESTRIAN.TV.

Standing between victory is, of course, his cruel Taskmaster Tom Gleeson, whom Josh says “pretends he hates me but is actually in love with me.” Admittedly, this works in his favour more than the judges on previous competitive TV appearances, which were still sore topics (sorry Josh).

“Kirk Pengilly won my Celebrity MasterChef ep, and Matt Moran was the guest judge, and Kirk was the best man at Matt’s wedding,” Josh said, connecting the dots of the dire plot against his appearance on a show in 2009.

“I will never forgive Matt Moran for what he did to me that day with the meringue. He’s my arch nemesis.”

Josh is more than familiar with competitive TV shows, appearing on a whole bunch of them over his career. Iconically, he lost at every single one of these, and is hoping that Taskmaster Australia delivers his game-show redemption arc.

“I was out on the first round of Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity Splash. I always lost on TBYG. I lost Ready Steady Cook against Claire Hooper and I lost Celebrity Come Dine With Me,” Josh said.

“I really went in thinking Taskmaster would be my retribution!!!”

But will it be? Better watch and find out — hopefully there are no meringue technical challenges on Taskmaster.

Anne Edmonds

Anne Edmonds is Australian comedy royalty. Known for her outstanding character work on shows such as ABC comedy Get Krack!n, and as an absolute legend amongst the stand-up comedy scene, Anne is a multi-award winning comic of international acclaim.

@melbcomedyfestival There’s always one on every bus. #AnneEdmonds #comedy #standup ♬ original sound – Melbourne Int. Comedy Festival

Another fascinating aspect of Anne’s appearance on Taskmaster Australia‘s second season is that she will be competing against her partner, Lloyd Langford. The two will be the first ever couple in Taskmaster history to compete against one another.

And according to a teaser released by Network 10, they aren’t going to play fair against one another for something as plain as “love” or “having a child together”.

If Taskmaster Australia wants chaos, Anne Edmonds is going to be the person to bring it, and lord help the two Toms if they try and reign her in.

Lloyd Langford

If Anne is the queen of Australian comedy, then Lloyd Langford is a foreign royal who has been paired together with an Aussie to create an international power couple.

@hybpa Father of the Year! #hybpa #comedy #lloydlangford #anneedmonds #tvshow ♬ original sound – HYBPAau

The Welsh comedian has been a mainstay of Aussie comedy shows since he moved Down Under and began to kill it on stage and on screen, appearing on shows like Have You Been Paying Attention, and Thank God You’re Here.

In fact, Langford is a Taskmaster alumn, competing in the OG live show before it made its way to TV, sharing an exclusive photo of himself competing in the second ever Taskmaster show in 2011.

Whether this provides Lloyd with an unfair advantage is yet to be seen. If his appearances on other comedy game shows are anything to go on, he enjoys going for the big laughs more than actually winning.

A set of priorities that Gleeson is sure to drill out of him in no time.

Jenny Tian

Jenny Tian joins the Taskmaster Australia cast for Season 2 as the comedian with the most online followers by a country mile.

Receiving five-star reviews for her recent stand-up comedy show “Chinese Australian: A Tale Of Internet Fame”, where she hilariously shares her experience as an internet celebrity, Jenny may be the youngest contestant this year, but that doesn’t mean she has anything to worry about.

@nomnomjenny I’ve got a special dropping on Nov 18! Link in bio #australia #aussie #racism #standupcomedy #asiancomedian ♬ original sound – Jenny Tian

Making appearances on other TV shows such as Celebrity Letters and Numbers and The Feed, Jenny will be sure to showcase some of her dry wit and observational comedy that fits so perfectly with the Taskmaster vibe.

Wil Anderson

Wil Anderson wouldn’t be blamed if he felt more at home hosting Taskmaster Australia than he did competing on it, after he’s already the host of ABC’s multiple Gruen shows, and gameshow Question Everything.

Despite being a contestant rather than host, Wil shared with his X (formerly Twitter) followers that filming for Taskmaster Australia Season 2 “was a fun experience.”

This was a fun experience https://t.co/dVx5Mb4o5A

— Wil Anderson (@Wil_Anderson) May 1, 2024

Wil Anderson has written books, hosted podcasts and radio, and performed a ‘yuge amount of live shows without ever running out of puns on his name to title them with.

Notably, Wil Anderson is NOT fellow Aussie comedian Adam Hills, despite the decades-long running gag that they are the same person.

What is Taskmaster?

Taskmaster as a television format was created by UK comedian Alex Horne, who takes the role of the Taskmaster’s Assistant in the UK/original version of the show. 

The UK Taskmaster is played by the iconic Greg Davies — the principal from Inbetweeners — and he treats this role with brutal seriousness. 

@taskmasterbestmoments ladies and gentleman, noel fielding🍌 #taskmaster #taskmasterchallenge #noelfielding #britishcomedy ♬ original sound – TASKMASTER BEST CLIPS

Even if you’ve never watched an episode of the show before, you’ve probably seen clips of it online somewhere because of how funny the show is — across all nations that have done a version of it.

There’s something about the format of the show, where the Taskmaster sets a task and comedians take a crack at it, that just works. It seems to hardly matter if the task is elaborate and has hidden tricks, or if it is straightforward, the results are always worth a laugh.

@channel4 Sam’s cobalt has a curious story #Taskmaster #SamCampbell #GregDavies ♬ original sound – Channel 4

At its purest, Taskmaster is a group of incredible comedians proving their wit and wisdom, and doing whatever it takes to win in a game where the only reward is pride. It’s the best.

When is Taskmaster Australia Season 2’s release date?

The chaotic load of laughs that is Season 2 of Taskmaster Australia will premiere on Thursday, May 23, at 7:30pm.

It will air every Thursday at this same time slot, with a total of 10 episodes that go for about an hour.

Where to watch Taskmaster Australia

You can watch Taskmaster Australia Season 2 on Channel 10 by tuning in live with a television — if that’s your MO. Alternatively, you can watch it live or on demand online using 10 Play, because despite what Tom Gleeson thinks, it is the 21st century.

And if you haven’t already, you can catch up on the first whole season on 10 Play too! It can also be watched on Paramount+, and on Amazon Prime Video.