Mark Ruffalo’s acclaimed crime drama Task has been renewed for a second season at HBO. Premiered earlier in the year, the seven-episode first season has become a hit, making the decision to greenlit another instalment as an easy one for the network.
The Marvel actor stars as protagonist Tom Brandis, a former priest-turned-FBI agent investigating a string of stash houses robberies in a difficult suburb. Behind the crimes is Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey), a man who’s part of a motorcycle gang.
The cast for the series is rounded out by The Running Man star Emilia Jones as Rob’s niece Maeve, and Martha Plimpton as Tom’s boss, Kathleen McGinty.
Also starring are House of the Dragon’s Fabien Frankel, The Underground Railroad’s Thuso Mbedu, and Saltburn’s Alison Oliver as the young detectives part of Tom’s task force: Anthony Grasso, Aleah Clinton, and Lizzie Stover, respectively.
The series is created by Brad Ingelsby, who previously developed the Kate Winslet-led drama Mare of Easttown for HBO.
HBO
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Addressing the renewal, the executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO drama series and films Francesca Orsi acknowledged the audience’s enthusiastic response to the show.
“We knew well in advance of its launch that we had a powerful drama series on our hands, but it has been so rewarding to witness the audience’s fervour and embrace of this show as it grew week after week,” Orsi said (via The Hollywood Reporter).
“Rarely does a writer balance humanistic storytelling with intricate, explosive plotting but Brad Ingelsby is one of our industry’s greats, and we have no doubt he will strike as profoundly and addictively once again in season two.”
As for Ingelsby, who also served as main writer for the show, he thanked HBO for supporting his project.
HBO
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“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have HBO’s unwavering support of Task from the very first script onwards, throughout production, and during their extraordinary launch of our first season to audiences,” the showrunner said.
“They are an unmatched creative home. On behalf of the entire Task team, in front of and behind the camera, I am honored and excited to get back to work on a second season of our show.”
Task has proved a success with critics and viewers alike, as it sits on a near-perfect score of 96% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics have praised the “Emmy-worthy” performances and the “twists and surprises” of the series (via Mac the Movie Guy) as well as celebrating the “compelling characters” and “patient writing” that have helped Task to “stand out from the crowd” (via Empire).
Task season 1 streams on HBO in the US. In the UK, it is available on NOW.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.Â
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).Â