Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade reunite for bizarre Netflix game show Hot or Cold

Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade are teaming up again for Hot or Cold, a new Netflix comedy entertainment show where contestants have to complete challenges without being told what they are actually supposed to do.

Netflix announced the six-part series at its first UK Upfront on September 24, with Bob and Richard leading a wider line-up of comedians and celebrity guests. The programme will launch on Netflix in 2027, although an exact release date has not yet been confirmed. 

The concept takes the familiar childhood game of hot and cold and turns it into a series of increasingly strange challenges. Teams enter a mysterious institution containing a labyrinth of rooms, with each room presenting them with something they need to accomplish as quickly as possible.

There is one considerable problem. Nobody tells the players what the challenge actually is or explains how they are supposed to complete it.

Instead, the room provides their only clues. It glows red as contestants get closer to discovering the solution and blue when they move further away, leaving the teams to work out both the objective and how to achieve it before progressing. 

The challenges will range from apparently straightforward tasks to deliberately absurd situations, with pairs racing from room to room while trying to understand what is expected of them.

Bob and Richard have already proved a memorable comedy pairing after appearing together in the first series of Last One Laughing UK. They ultimately became the final two players remaining in the competition, with Bob winning their final face-off. 

Hot or Cold will bring them back together in a very different format while surrounding them with other comedians and well-known faces. Netflix has yet to reveal the complete celebrity line-up, meaning further casting announcements are still to come.

The programme is being made by Zeppotron, part of Banijay UK. The production company is also behind programmes including Would I Lie to You? and was involved in Last One Laughing UK, providing another connection between the new Netflix series and Bob and Richard’s previous appearance together. 

Richard also has plenty of experience with unusual challenge formats after previously presenting the revived The Crystal Maze, while Bob’s unpredictable humour should make the lack of instructions in Hot or Cold particularly interesting.

Netflix has ordered six episodes for the first series. With the remaining celebrity players and release date still under wraps, there should be considerably more to discover before the doors to Hot or Cold open in 2027.