New to HBO (and HBO Max) on September 7, 2025, Task is a bleak, gritty, deeply captivating American crime drama sure to keep True Detective fans busy until Nicolas Cage headlines Season 5. Featuring truly remarkable performances by Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey, Task follows a morally compromised ex-priest-turned-police detective assigned to investigate a rash of violent robberies in the Philadelphia suburbs.
With the premiere establishing the environment and complex characters, setting consequential stakes, and introducing the central conflict for the rest of the season, HBO has fashioned the network’s next great crime miniseries. Beyond filling the void left by True Detective, Task is also set in the same narrative universe as Mare of Easttown, making for another ideal companion piece to an acclaimed HBO crime series.
‘Task’ Is HBO’s New Sunday Prestige Drama
Created and written by Mare of Easttown‘s Brad Ingelsby (with the premiere directed by Jeremiah Zagar), Task is a familiar and refreshing crime drama that evokes the best of True Detective. While Task doesn’t adhere to the dual-interview framing device of True Detective, it does rely on the convincing performance of movie-star-caliber actors. In this case, Mark Ruffalo guides viewers on a journey as Tom Brandis, a former priest painfully grappling with his faith after his son, Ethan, is arrested for committing a family-related crime.
As Tom deals with the emotional fallout of Ethan’s fate, he returns to work as an FBI field agent. Tom is assigned to find those responsible for a slew of violent robberies targeting trap houses in suburban Philadelphia. The robberies are orchestrated by Robbie Pendergast (Tom Pelphrey), a seemingly good-hearted trash collector. He raises his two children, Harper (Kennedy Moyer) and Wyatt (Oliver Eisenson), and his niece, Maeve (Emilia Jones), in his deceased brother’s house.
When multiple drug houses are robbed in various Pennsylvania counties, Tom leads a task force that includes State Trooper Lizzie Stover (Alison Oliver), Sergeant Detective Aleah Clinton (Thuso Mbedu), and County Detective Anthony Grasso (Fabien Frankel). But make no mistake, the power of the series comes from the inevitable collision course that Tom and Robbie are on as two deeply conflicted and morally confounded men on opposite sides of the law doing what’s best for their families.
How ‘Task’ Compares to ‘True Detective’
Although Task takes a different storytelling approach than True Detective, both are shows about criminal investigators with a serious internal cross to bear. True Detective often pairs two disparate investigators and explores their personal and professional differences as they solve grisly murders. For instance, Season 1 focused on Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson), two deeply flawed yet incredibly different police investigators tasked with solving a ritualistic murder.
Those who saw True Detective Season 1 know what a tour-de-force turn McConaughey gave as Cohle, the psychologically tormented and drug-addled investigator who never got over the death of his daughter. Just as Rust loses faith in humanity and spirals into a hopeless pessimism, Tom loses faith in his religion in Task, after dealing with a family tragedy that separates him from his son, Ethan. Of course, both are played by brilliant, award-winning cinematic actors who bring the characters to life with aching realism. For the performances alone, Task is on par with True Detective.
One exciting way Task differs from True Detective is in its sympathetic depiction of its central criminal. Robbie has every good intention in his heart to protect and provide for his family, resorting to robbing drug dealers to give them a better existence. The stark parallel between Tom, the ex-priest who’s losing his religion, and Robbie, the blue-collar thief with a heart of gold, becomes more fascinating as their paths inch closer toward an inevitable collision. There’s also a religious theme coursing through True Detective that is hard to ignore.
Although only one episode of Task has aired thus far, the visceral gun-blazing shootout that ends the opening chapter is truly captivating. It evokes the blistering gun battle depicted in True Detective Season 1, Episode 4, “Who Goes There,” which featured a stunning six-minute sequence – shot in one continuous take – that vividly immersed viewers in the punishing action.
How ‘Task’ Connects to ‘Mare of Easttown’
Beyond serving as a worthy True Detective placeholder, Task also shares a storytelling universe with HBO’s Mare of Easttown. Another seven-part miniseries written and created by Brad Ingelsby, Mare of Easttown stars the great Kate Winslet as a police detective investigating the murder of a teenage mother in small-town Pennsylvania. Task takes place in nearby counties, serving as a spiritual successor to Mare of Easttown.
Far from an unnecessary retread, Task flips the script to focus on fatherhood, religion, grief, and profound human loss. Mare of Easttown was more about motherhood, memories, and personal vindication. But unlike True Detective, there are subtle, sympathetic nuances to the criminal characters in Task and Mare of Easttown that complicate viewers’ allegiances. Meaning, Robbie in Task is more likable, redeemable, and understandable than one-note murderers like Ledoux and Errol in True Detective.
By blurring the line between hero and villain, Task truly forces viewers to ponder who to side with as the story unfolds. It’s the same requirement True Detective asked of viewers when Cohle and Hart became morally compromised in their investigation. It’s a hallmark of great crime writing: creating flawed characters who toe the ethical line, yet retain vestiges of empathy and good-hearted humanity.
As for critical marks, Task (95% RT rating) is on par with True Detective 1 (92% RT rating). Most critics agree that Ruffalo and Pelphrey deliver performances among their best, with others lauding Ingelsby’s fresh perspective on the well-worn crime genre. For those left cold by the fourth season of True Detective after series creator Nic Pizzolatto passed the torch to Issa López, Task is an ideal way to restore faith in the detective fiction genre. Task is streaming on HBO Max.
