Task is an American crime drama television series created and written by Brad Ingelsby for HBO. The series is set in the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where an FBI agent heads a Task Force to put an end to a string of violent robberies of drug houses. The first season premiered on September 7, 2025; it consisted of seven episodes. The first season cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, Emilia Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Raúl Castillo, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, Silvia Dionicio, and Martha Plimpton.
Task received positive reviews from critics. The series received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including acting nominations for Ruffalo and Pelphrey. Pelphrey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Originally billed as a limited series, its strong reception led to Task being renewed in November 2025 for a second season. Ruffalo, Plimpton and Dionicio return for the second season. A number of new cast members were added to the show for season two, including Mahershala Ali.
Premise Philadelphia-based FBI agent Tom Brandis is put in charge of a task force investigating a string of violent robberies against stash houses run by outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Cast Main
Mark Ruffalo as Tom Brandis, an FBI agent and former Catholic priest ordered to head up a task force investigating a series of armed robberies, returning to field duty after taking time off due to a family tragedy Tom Pelphrey as Robbie Prendergrast, a garbage collector for J&W Sanitation who robs "trap houses" operated by drug gangs in the Philadelphia area Emilia Jones as Maeve Prendergrast, Robbie's 21-year-old niece who has been saddled with the raising of Robbie's young children since the departure of his wife almost a year earlier Fabien Frankel as Anthony Grasso, a Delaware County detective who joins the task force Tom sets up to investigate the robberies Thuso Mbedu as Aleah Clinton, a no-nonsense Chester detective sergeant who joins Tom's task force Raúl Castillo as Cliff Broward, Robbie's friend and co-worker who joins in the trap house robberies Alison Oliver as Lizzie Stover, an inexperienced PSP trooper on Tom's task force Owen Teague as Kenny "Peaches" Pollard, Robbie and Cliff's accomplice in the trap house robberies Silvia Dionicio as Emily Brandis, Tom's adopted daughter and biological sister of Ethan, Tom's adopted son Martha Plimpton as Kathleen McGinty, FBI Supervisory Senior Resident in Charge and Tom's superior officer Jamie McShane as Perry Dorazo, one of the national leaders of the Dark Hearts motorcycle gang whose trap houses are the target of most of the robberies Sam Keeley as Jayson Wilkes, Perry's protegé and a volatile member of the Dark Hearts who heads their operations in Delaware County. Phoebe Fox as Sara, Tom's biological daughter and adoptive sister to Emily and Ethan
Recurring
Ben Doherty as Sam, Derek's young son Oliver Eisenson as Wyatt Prendergrast, Robbie's son Kennedy Moyer as Harper Prendergrast, Robbie's daughter Stephanie Kurtzuba as Donna Margarita Levieva as Eryn, Jayson's romantic partner who was previously involved with Robbie's brother Billy Colin Bates as Shane McReynolds, a mechanic and member of the Dark Hearts Dominic Colón as Derek 'Breaker' Robert Berlin as Julius, a Dark Hearts lieutenant
Guest
Isaach de Bankolé as Daniel Georges, a Catholic priest and Tom's longtime friend Michael Maize as Deric Nance, a Dark Hearts member who runs one of the gang's trap houses in Delaware County Raphael Sbarge as Michael Dorsey, chief of detectives of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division and Anthony Grasso's boss Mickey Sumner as Shelley Driscoll, the partner of Robbie and Cliff's friend Ray Lyman Brian Goodman as Vincent Hawkes, one of the 12 national leaders of the Dark Hearts who make up the gang's "Mother Club" Elvis Nolasco as Freddy Frias, a Dominican drug kingpin in Philadelphia who does business with the Dark Hearts Coral Peña as Meg Coyle, a counselor at Emily's school Mireille Enos as Susan Brandis, Tom's wife who was killed by their adopted son Ethan Jack Kesy as Billy Prendergast, Robbie's deceased brother and Maeve's father, a member of the Dark Hearts who was murdered by Jayson after his affair with Eryn was discovered Lilli Kay as Frankie Grasso, Anthony Grasso's sister Andrew Russel as Ethan, Tom's adopted son and Emily's biological brother, who is currently incarcerated for the killing of Susan, Tom's wife.
Episodes
Production Development In June 2023, it was announced HBO had greenlit the series, with Brad Ingelsby serving as creator and writer, and Jeremiah Zagar set to direct multiple episodes. In December 2023, it was announced Salli Richardson-Whitfield would also direct multiple episodes and serve as an executive producer. In November 2024, the series's title, Task, was announced. Originally billed as a miniseries, on November 20, 2025, HBO renewed the series for a second season. On June 22, 2026, HBO announced Georgi Banks-Davies, Clare Kilner, and Kitty Green would serve as directors for the second season, joining returning director Richardson-Whitfield.
Casting Season 1 After initial choice Michael Keaton had to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts, Mark Ruffalo was announced in June 2023 to star in the series. In December 2023, Tom Pelphrey, Emilia Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Raúl Castillo, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Fabien Frankel and Alison Oliver joined the cast of the series. In March 2024, Owen Teague, Dominic Colón, Margarita Levieva, Raphael Sbarge, Mickey Sumner, Elvis Nolasco, Brian Goodman, Colin Bates, Isaach de Bankolé, Phoebe Fox, Silvia Dionicio and Coral Peña joined the cast in recurring roles. In November 2024, Martha Plimpton and Mireille Enos were announced as part of the cast.
Season 2 In March 2026, Mahershala Ali was cast as part of the starring cast for the second season. In May 2026, Harry Melling, Adam Nagaitis and Aminah Nieves joined the cast of the second season. In June 2026, Édgar Ramírez was cast for the second season. In July 2026, Julianne Nicholson was announced to be reprising her role from Ingelsby's other series, Mare of Easttown (2021), revealing that these series are set in the same universe. Also in July, it was confirmed Plimpton and Dionicio would return for the second season, reprising their roles. In August 2026, Tim Blake Nelson, Jharrel Jerome, Brían F. O'Byrne, Kevin Dunn, Bethlehem Million, Stephanie Sigman, Alaíde, Rocío Guzmán, and Regina Nava joined the second season, while Andrew Russel was announced to reprise his role as Ethan Brandis. In September 2026, Rose Rollins was cast as a series regular, while Carol Santiago was cast in a recurring capacity.
Filming Principal photography of season one of began in Delaware County, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia in March 2024. Filming of season two of began in July 2026, with filming occurring in Manayunk, Philadelphia and parts of Delaware County.
Release Task premiered on HBO on September 7, 2025. Episodes were released weekly; there were a total of seven episodes in season one.
Reception Critical response The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.95/10, based on 83 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey are superb in Task, a culturally-specific crime story that's unrelentingly bleak but equally riveting." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 77 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result 2025 American Film Institute Awards Top 10 Television Programs Task 2026 American Society of Cinematographers Episode of a One-Hour Regular Series Alex Disenhof 2025 Astra Creative Arts Awards Best Hairstyling Task Best Score 2026 Astra TV Awards Best Actor in a Drama Series Mark Ruffalo Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Tom Pelphrey Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emilia Jones Best Writing in a Drama Series Brad Ingelsby 2026 British Academy Television Awards Best Supporting Actress Emilia Jones 2026 British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography in a Television Drama (International/Streaming) Alex Disenhof 2026 Critics' Choice Awards Best Drama Series Task Best Actor in a Drama Series Mark Ruffalo Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Tom Pelphrey 2026 Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Action Series, Limited Series, or Made-for-TV Movie Task Best Actor in an Action Series, Limited Series, or Made-for-TV Movie Mark Ruffalo 2026 Dorian TV Awards Best TV Performance – Drama 2026 Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama 2026 Golden Reel Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Broadcast Long Form Dialogue / ADR Lidia Tamplenizza, Michael McMenomy, and Mar Heredia 2026 Golden Trailer Awards Best Thriller TrailerByte for a TV/Streaming Series "Carousel" (HBO Max / HBO Marketing AV) 2026 Gotham TV Awards Breakthrough Drama Series Brad Ingelsby, David Crockett, Paul Lee, Mark Roybal, Mark Ruffalo, Ron Schmidt, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and Jeremiah Zagar Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Drama Series Tom Pelphrey 2026 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Best Music Supervision in a Trailer (Series) Anny Colvin 2026 Irish Film & Television Awards Best Supporting Actress – Drama Alison Oliver 2026 MacGuffin Awards Television Miniseries Susannah McCarthy 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Mark Ruffalo Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Tom Pelphrey Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Salli Richardson-Whitfield Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Brad Ingelsby 2026 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour) Alex Disenhof Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series Keiko Deguchi and Amy E. Duddleston 2026 Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Series – Drama or Genre Mark Ruffalo 2025 Screen Awards Best TV Series Task Best New TV Series Debut 2026 TCA Awards Outstanding Achievement in Drama 2026 Writers Guild of America Awards New Series Brad Ingelsby and David Obzud Episodic Drama Brad Ingelsby
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