HBOTask is a new crime drama from the creator of Mare of Easttown, it stars Mark Ruffalo and House of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel, and it’s been given HBO’s most prestigious spot. Why aren’t you already watching it?
After all, HBO’s Sunday night television has given us some of the best TV shows of all time: The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Succession, and Game of Thrones, to name a few.
It wouldn’t be fair to say Mare of Easttown is one of its most underrated projects; it was nominated for 16 Emmys, Kate Winslet won Best Actress, and it has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score. However, you could argue it’s a little underappreciated compared to its bigger shows – it’s the kind of series you mention to people and they react, “Oh yeah! I forgot about that, but it was amazing.”
Now, you have the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the curve with Task. If you’re not convinced by the end of this article, look inward.
What is Task about?
Task follows Tom (Ruffalo), a Philadelphia-based FBI agent who leads a task force to find and stop a local robber (Tom Pelphrey).
“Set in the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia, an FBI agent heads a Task Force to put an end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspecting family man,” the official logline reads.
Any cops-and-robbers story will draw comparisons to Heat (one of the best action movies ever made), but this time, it was a direct point of inspiration, alongside Mare of Easttown.
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HBO“We kicked the tires on Mare of Easttown Season 2 a little bit, and the hard thing that Kate [Winslet] and I talked about, and one of the things I really struggled with, was I felt like Mare was such an emotional journey and every time I tried to think of what would happen next in Mare’s life, it was always less than that,” creator Brad Inglesby explained to The Wrap.
“So I had a couple ideas after Mare, and one of them was Task and that was the one I was most passionate about. I was really interested in Tom, a guy who’s a man of faith who’s lost his faith and is trying to find his way out of this abyss.
“Obviously Heat has been a big influence on me. I watched that movie over and over again when I was a kid, and I didn’t want to do another whodunnit, because it felt like Mare was the whodunnit show.
“What I admired about Heat was it was so tense, and the tension in that movie came from the fact that you wanted Robert De Niro to get away and you wanted Al Pacino to find him, and knowing these things can’t coexist. So that collision course model was interesting to me.”
Who’s in the Task cast?
HBOMark Ruffalo leads the Task cast, starring alongside Tom Pelphrey, Fabien Frankel, and Emilia Jones. The cast also includes:
- Thuso Mbedu as Aleah
- Raúl Castillo as Cliff
- Alison Oliver as Lizzie
- Owen Teague as Peaches
- Silvia Dionicio as Emily
- Martha Plimpton as Kathleen McGinty
Ruffalo admitted to USA Today that Tom is one of the most intense characters he’s ever played. “There’s so much working around this character from the moment we find him. It was like, ‘This is going to be intense.’ And it was intense,” he said.
Tom isn’t in his best shape at the start of the series; he’s put on a bit of weight, and he looks quite messy all the time. “We wanted to lean into the tragedy aftermath. The anchor of the family is gone. As parent and in terms of what he’s eating and drinking, Tom is adrift,” Inglesby said.
However, Ruffalo opted for padding under his clothes, rather than putting on weight – which will make things easier for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
“We don’t know if that role is for certain; let’s knock on wood that it transpires. That’s my bread and butter. But you have to be in great shape for that role. There’s no hiding anything in that suit,” he said.
Is Task worth watching?
HBOYes! Task should be at the top of your watchlist. It has an 89% Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews hailing it as “the best crime thriller of the year.”
“Perhaps the best crime thriller of the year, it’s also a validation of the seven-, eight-, or nine-part TV series…. the information here – who is who, who did what, why it’s all happening – is parceled out in tantalizing morsels. And yet the pace is exhilarating,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.
“Task doesn’t suffer for its similarities to other shows… great stories can take us away from one reality and immerse us in another, or they can heighten reality to such a degree it’s all you can see. What matters is that, either way, they resonate so strongly you can’t help but give a sh*t,” IndieWire also wrote.
The Los Angeles Times noted that it’s “very well made and very well acted, and, where many crime stories settle for sensational nihilism, Task does want to leave you feeling… pretty good. Not horrible. Hopeful.”
How to watch Task
Task is exclusively available via HBO and HBO Max in the US. Viewers in the UK can watch it weekly on Sky Atlantic or stream it on NOW.
You can also check out other new TV shows to stream this month and our 2025 TV calendar.