Minor spoilers for the end of episode one.
After garnering a lot of praise and a lot of goodwill at HBO for Mare of Easttown, Brad Ingelsby returns with Task, a new crime miniseries for the network starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey about a group of thieves and the task force hunting them down.
Task is about the titular FBI task force assigned to investigate a string of robberies happening in rural Pennsylvania. The task force is led by Ruffalo’s Tom Brandis, an alcoholic and former priest turned FBI field agent who, trust me, very much does not have the time or patience to be on a task force right now due to the impending sentencing of his adoptive son for the murder of his wife. This is on top of trying to be there for his other adoptive daughter and his biological daughter, but largely failing in this endeavour as well. The task force is made to be something of a distraction for Tom, an easy case of home invasion robberies to get him back on track after working as the FBI’s job fair recruiter following the murder. Of course, nothing can be easy, and the investigation proves more complex than initially pitched.
What makes Task work so well is that it gives equal screen time to Robbie Prendergrast, the ringleader of the thieves by night and garbage collector by day. The writing allows the audience to become quite sympathetic to his plight, despite the criminality of his plan. When one of his robberies goes horribly wrong, resulting in four dead, a child kidnapped after seeing their faces, and bags of fentanyl stolen instead of cash, Robbie finds himself struggling to stay above water. That’s on top of the local motorcycle gang searching for the missing child and their missing product.
At seven episodes long, Task is a miniseries that knows exactly where its endgame is and doesn’t waste a single minute on filler or meandering. Everything in the show is in service to the characters, and the stakes always seem to be elevating each episode as the walls close in around Robbie and his family, whether that be from the task force or from the Dark Hearts MC. Each episode is at least partly written by Brad Ingelsby, and he somehow manages to balance grim and lost individuals with a hopeful and human tone. We understand everyone’s motivations and worldviews, even if we don’t agree or sympathize with those characters.
To tell a focused story like this, you have to not only understand the characters but also be rooting for them despite their situation and/or judgment. The show is elevated wonderfully, in this case, by a stellar cast doing A+ work. But a specific shoutout to Pelphrey as Robbie. Despite being the morally hazy and criminally inclined half of the two leads, he has a warmth and presence about him that makes us understand his motivations. He’s a family man who has been dealt a series of bad hands in life and may not fully justify his actions, but it’s enough that we understand why he’s doing what he’s doing (keeping this vague, but it’s way more complex than I’m making it seem here). Many of the shots associated with Robbie are lush and full of nature and love, and there ends up being a warmth around his character. He’s not an evil or bad man; he’s quite caring, in fact, but has found himself in an incredibly bad situation.
The show also reminds us that Mark Ruffalo is a talented actor. After being stuck playing the Hulk for over a decade and giving a, we’ll say, mixed performance in Mickey 17 earlier this year, you may have forgotten that Ruffalo is a talented actor and this show allows him to tap into that side of him that we haven’t seen in many years, now I’d say. The supporting cast all do great work as well, whether that be Emilia Jones as Maeve Prendergrast, Robbie’s niece, Jamie McShane as Perry Dorazo and Sam Keeley as Jayson Wilkes as high ranking member of the Dark Hearts MC, with Thuso Mbedu as Aleah Clinton, Alison Oliver as Lizzie Stover, and House of the Dragon’s Fabien Frankel as Anthony Grasso as the members of the task force.
When it comes to next year’s award season, hopefully Ingelsby, Pelphrey, Ruffalo, and Jones get considered for best writing and acting, respectively. Task is a sharp, well-written, engaging crime thriller that balances consistent high-stakes tension with personal character moments that feel earned and real. It’s a strong recommendation from me and one of the best shows of the year. Despite being a riveting crime thriller, it’s a show that’s ultimately about family, the baggage that comes with that, and the lengths one will go for their family.