November 20, 2025
Peter Kramer/HBO
HBO's hit crime drama 'Task' has been renewed for a second season that will bring Mark Ruffalo, above, back to Delaware County as FBI agent Tom Brandis.
HBO has ordered a second season of Brad Ingelsby's critically acclaimed Delco crime drama,"Task," revealing Thursday that Mark Ruffalo will return to the cast as FBI agent Tom Brandis.
The network announced the show's renewal during a press presentation Thursday morning.
MORE: Where will 'Task' creator Brad Ingelsby take HBO's Delco drama in Season 2?
"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 fervor and embrace of this show as it grew week after week," said Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO programming and head of HBO drama series and films.
The first season of "Task" debuted in September with a seven-episode run that told the story of an FBI investigation into a series of drug house robberies targeting the fictional Dark Hearts motorcycle gang in Philly's western suburbs. Ruffalo leads a task force that tries to track down Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey), the unsuspecting family-man-turned-crook who seeks vengeance for the murder of his brother at the hands of one of the gang's leaders.
HBO did not share a timeline for Season 2 and has not released a full list of cast members who will return to the show.
"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," Brad Ingelsby said in a statement. "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" was Ingelsby's follow-up to HBO's "Mare of Easttown," another gritty crime drama set in Delaware County and filmed on location in the region that earned rave reviews for its portrayal of a small community rocked by a young woman's murder. Lead actress Kate Winslet, who played detective Mare Sheehan, won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress – one of four trophies the limited series nabbed in 2021.
"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 (of 'Task')," Orsi said.
"Task" holds a 96% critical approval rating and a 76% positive score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The season finale on Oct. 23 drew 4 million viewers in its first three days, a roughly 30% surge from the three-day performance of its premiere. The show is one of HBO's fastest-growing freshman series ever, according to Warner Bros. Discovery.
The first season of "Task" was directed by Philly native Jeremiah Zagar and featured an ensemble cast led by Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Thuso Mbedu, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, Raúl Castillo, Silvia Dionicio, Phoebe Fox, and Martha Plimpton. Production crews filmed at locations across Delaware County last year and made stops in Wissahickon Valley Park, the Italian Market and upstate in the Poconos.
Several of the show's stars were killed during the course of Season 1, but the series ended with open questions about the future of the characters who survived. There has also been speculation that Ingelsby could merge the worlds of "Task" and "Mare of Easttown."
"They exist in the same world, so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Mare walked into a Wawa that Tom was in," Ingelsby told the Hollywood Reporter in September. "I don't have a story in mind that's a crossover, but I love the idea of their worlds intersecting."
Ingelsby raved about the chemistry on the set of "Task" and recently told Deadline he was eager to advance the story.
"I'd love to do it," he said. "I mean, we get along so well."
