Task: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Mark Ruffalo stars in a seven-part HBO crime drama from the creator of Mare Of Easttown
Year: 2025
Certificate: 15
Brad Ingelsby was the man behind Mare Of Easttown, a seven-part HBO drama about an emotionally broken woman finding redemption through cracking a case in down-at-heel America. Now he's back with Task, a seven-part HBO drama about an emotionally broken man finding redemption through cracking a case in down-at-heel America.
Cheeky comparisons aside, Task is a similarly strong piece of work that will slowly draw you in by the end of its first episode, which runs the gamut from light moments of banter to potential infanticide. Mark Ruffalo is the star, and he cuts an appealingly avuncular figure as FBI agent Tom Brandis, a man on leave while he reels from trauma.
That leave is cut short by his boss (Martha Plimpton), who needs Tom to head up a task force to stop a stint of brutal robberies being conducted by a kind-looking family man. Why is someone with nearly as nice a face as Tom robbing people? And can Tom stop him?
Comparing the character of these two men is the real business of Task, a show that's slow-burning in the best sense of that phrase. It may be a little dour for some at the start, but the ending is well worth the wait. A second series has been ordered. (Seven episodes)
