This fall, morally gray is the new black. That’s the sentiment at the heart of “Task,” HBO’s upcoming drama from Emmy-nominated “Mare of Easttown” creator Brad Ingelsby.
Set to debut Sept. 7 on HBO, “Task” takes place in the working class suburbs of Philadelphia. After a string of violent robberies, a task force is put together by the FBI. The series follows the standoff between the FBI agent leading this force (Mark Ruffalo) and the unsuspecting family man (Tom Pelphrey) who’s secretly heading these crimes.
“It’s easy to talk about forgiveness and mercy when it’s not your loss,” Ruffalo’s Tom opines in the first few seconds of the trailer as Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” plays.
The camera then cuts to Pelphrey’s Robbie as he hugs his children. “I’m going to take their money so we can have a better life,” he then says in a hardened voiceover.
That sets up the dynamic for this first trailer, as well as for the drama as a whole. Every time one man stoically says something bleak and borderline hopeless, the other counters with something just as upsetting. When Ruffalo and Pelphrey aren’t brooding, the trailer cuts to dramatic shots of FBI agents finding coke and pointing their guns amid several masked kidnappings. If you’re keeping score, those are all the makings of a big, high-octane, morally complex drama hit.
The trailer ends with a confrontation between Ruffalo’s Tom and Pelphrey’s Robbie. “You can still go home,” Tom says, to which Robbie responds, “Even if I wanted to go home, I don’t know the way no more.” Watch the full trailer above.
“Task” also stars Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Thuso Mbedu, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, Raúl Castillo, Silvia Dionicio, Phoebe Fox and Martha Plimpton. Ingelsby serves as the series’ creator, writer, showrunner and executive producer. Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield direct and executive produce the series. Other EPs include Mark Roybal and Paul Lee for wiip, Ruffalo, David Crockett and Ron Schmidt. Nicole Jordan-Webber and Jeremy Yaches co-executive produce for Public Record.
