TV Review: ‘Task’ is a Gritty, Emotional Dive Into Crime and Redemption

When one thinks of HBO, prestigious television is the first thing that comes to mind. Shows like Game of Thrones, The Wire, and True Detective are some of the shows that have changed the television landscape. In 2021, Brad Ingelsby’s Emmy-winning drama Mare of Easttown provided a culmination of what HBO does best. Yes, it was a crime story, but also a compelling character drama. Three years later, Ingelsby is back with a new television series Task, starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphary.

The story of Task takes place in the working-class Philadelphia suburbs. The story follows a down-on-his-luck FBI agent named Tom (Mark Ruffalo). While put out to pasture in FBI recruitment, he is called back into the field by his former boss Kathleen McGinty (Martha Plimpton). Tom’s mission is to assemble a Task Force, set to investigate a string of violent home invasions orchestrated by Robbie (Tom Pelphrey). What Tom thinks is a simple case turns out to be something else altogether. Instead, it becomes a vicious cat-and-mouse game that affects these men both on and off the field.

On its surface, Task exists as an effective cops-and-robbers story. In actuality, the show is something much more profound. As a screenwriter, Ingelsby is not interested in just the crime story of Task. Instead, he’s interested in the effects of these people’s actions and their personal lives. When the series focuses on the lives outside of the case, the results prove incredibly compelling. This includes what both Tom and Robbie are looking to get out of their lives. Each man is riddled with tragedy from their past, hoping to make a better future for themselves and their family in the process. This gives both Ruffalo and Pelphary room to deliver performances that avoid cliché.

Ruffalo gives the “disgruntled cop” character exciting emotional depth. The power of his performance resides in its subtlety. From episode one, viewers are aware that the character is riddled with pain. While we learn what that pain is, viewers automatically sympathize with Tom when we first see him. We see the pain in his eyes and why this case eventually comes to mean so much to him. It’s a nuanced portrayal that conveys humanity. Tom never feels like a caricature, but someone who is genuinely scarred. While that past teeters into melodramatic territory, Ruffalo keeps things grounded. It helps to craft something exciting, making the character feel tragic and honest. The results of which deliver a character achingly humane and easy for viewers to care for.

In comparison, Ruffalo’s tragic figure is quite different from Pelphary’s Robbie. Unlike Tom, who is dealing with a sad past, Robbie’s tragedy is that he’s stuck in his life. He simply wants a better life for his family, which includes his niece Maeve and his younger niece and nephews. This results in him going down a dark road of morally corrupting crime. Pelphary wisely makes Robbie someone incredibly likable. While viewers may disagree with his choices, we still want him to succeed. That is, no matter how idiotic and morally wrong his decisions end up being. Viewers never frown upon his bad choices, but keep hoping he can find a way out of depravity. The role serves as an acting showcase for Pelphary, making the character more than just a criminal. Instead, he makes the character a victim of circumstance. The results of which craft someone easy to become invested in emotionally, even if viewers understand the error in his ways.

Where Task tends to struggle is within its supporting ensemble. To make things clear, there is no bad actor in the bunch. The problem is that between the supporting task force, families, and possible villains, those roles feel archetypal. Those performances lack the same spark as the leading roles. Yes, those characters do feel like real human beings, but they do nothing more than move the plot forward. Granted, it can’t be avoided that we do grow to care about them all. That is, even if the script does not do them any favors as the series reaches a conclusion.

Task is a compelling and emotionally stirring story of cops and robbers. Our central performances make for engaging guides into this world. Viewers care about this battle of “good vs evil,” and understand both sides have more layers. Both characters feel real and never teeter into parodies of the genre. While the supporting characters are underdeveloped, they still help in crafting a compelling journey. There is no narrative fat on display, stripping the story down to its most crucial elements. Over seven episodes, that helps to make Task one of the better crime dramas on television in quite some time.

New episodes of Task premiere each Sunday on HBO and streaming on HBO Max.