Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | January 6, 2026
Before Jason Mantzoukas was cast on the UK’s Taskmaster as the first American-based comedian, there were rumors that the first person they would recruit from the U.S. was Kumail Nanjiani. I mention this only to reinforce what Nanjiani says in the video below: He is not a bandwagoner who jumped aboard after seeing Mantzoukas on the show. He actually wanted to be on first and is amusingly annoyed that Mantzoukas landed the gig before him.
But yes, for those who don’t know, Kumail Nanjiani has been cast in the upcoming season of Taskmaster - the 21st - with arguably one of the most well-known casts to date. The panel also includes Veep and The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci, Amy Gledhill, Joanna Page, and Joel Dommett (and if the last three names aren’t familiar, anyone who keeps up with British television will at least recognize Gledhill and Page).
How did Nanjiani land the gig? As he explains in the video below, he ran into former contestant James Acaster - who is also the reason Nanjiani became a fan of the series back in 2019 - at a party. Acaster brought along another former cast member, Tim Key (who was shooting The Paper at the time), and Nanjiani told Key how much he loved Taskmaster and how badly he wanted to be on the show. Key, in turn, texted Alex Horne at that very moment, and the rest is history.
Nanjiani also explains, however, that his agent had no idea what Taskmaster was and even questioned his decision to appear on it because the pay in the UK is low enough that he’d essentially be losing money. Nanjiani didn’t care, and he doesn’t regret it. “It was great. It was so fun,” he said. “And I really loved our group. Like truly, genuinely, we all fell in love. It was joyful.”
And I can’t wait to watch it when it premieres, likely sometime this spring.
