Now streaming first on Showmax, Task has already scored an 89% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Wall Street Journal hailing it as “perhaps the best crime thriller of the year.”
Four-time Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo stars as Tom, a former priest turned FBI agent leading a task force determined to end a wave of violent robberies.
He’s joined by Emmy nominee Tom Pelphrey (Ozark), who plays Robbie, a garbage collector caught in over his head after stealing drug money from a local motorcycle gang.
The powerhouse ensemble cast also features:
- Thuso Mbedu (South Africa’s own rising international star)
- BAFTA nominee Emilia Jones (CODA)
- Jamie McShane (Wednesday, 1923)
- Alison Oliver (Saltburn)
- Fabien Frankel (House of the Dragon)
From the Creator of Mare of Easttown
Task comes from Brad Ingelsby, the creator of the four-time Emmy-winning Mare of Easttown. Like its predecessor, Task is set in the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia—a world Ingelsby knows intimately, having grown up in Delaware County.
“I like writing characters and stories set in this region of Pennsylvania,” says Ingelsby. “It’s in my blood, and I knew there was more material to mine.”
Task is Not Mare of Easttown 2.0
Though both series share DNA, executive producer Mark Roybal insists that Task has its own identity.
“Task lives in the same world, but it’s a propulsive action-thriller in the vein of Michael Mann’s Heat,” he explains. “Brad gave it its own rhythm and energy.”
Building the Character of Tom
Casting Ruffalo as Tom was a challenge because the character had so many contradictions—former parish priest, theologian, intellectual, father, husband, and law enforcement professional.
“His superpower isn’t that he’s an ace agent or a brilliant interrogator,” says Ingelsby. “It’s his empathy—his ability to see the world differently.”
For authenticity, Ingelsby leaned on Scott A Duffey, a former seminarian turned FBI agent with experience in violent crime task forces. Inspiration also came from Ingelsby’s own family, which includes priests.
Humanity on Both Sides of the Law
At its core, Task explores themes of faith, duty, and fractured family life. Both Tom and Robbie are fathers struggling to hold their families together while caught in dangerous circumstances.
“I’m attracted to stories about working-class people who may not live the lives they dreamed about but who still get up, clock in, and provide for their families. That resilience is heroic,” says Ingelsby.
Director Salli Richardson-Whitfield (The Gilded Age, Winning Time) highlights how the show humanises everyone, even the so-called criminals. “You come to care about both groups of people,” she says. She directed three episodes, including the pivotal Episode 6 with its 17-minute chase sequence through the woods.
Watch the trailer for Task below:
Task is streaming now, first on Showmax, with new episodes dropping every Monday, express from the US.
Watch this space for updates in the Streaming category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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