March 24, 2026
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Mahershala Ali will star with returning 'Task' actor Mark Ruffalo in Season 2 of the HBO series.
A two-time Oscar winner will be hitting the streets of Philadelphia for the second season of "Task."
Mahershala Ali is joining the cast of the HBO series, according to multiple trade reports. He will star alongside Mark Ruffalo, returning as Delco priest-turned-FBI agent Tom Brandis.
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Ali's character Eddie Barnes, "a seasoned and well-respected DEA agent in Philadelphia," apparently will be a source of tension for Tom's new task force. Their respective teams come "into conflict" on an unspecified operation.
According to the new season's logline: "Tom Brandis (Ruffalo) takes the helm of a new task force, but the deeper the operation runs, the harder it is to tell who's the target."
Apart from Ruffalo, Ali is the only confirmed cast member for the next season of "Task." The acclaimed actor won Academy Awards for his performances in "Moonlight" and "Green Book," making him the only Black actor besides Denzel Washington to claim multiple Oscars. He also previously starred in another HBO crime show. Ali anchored the third season of the anthology series "True Detective."
"Task," the latest series from "Mare of Easttown" creator and Berwyn native Brad Ingelsby, was renewed for another season last November. It's unclear if any of Tom's former task force investigators will return for his next case, or which story threads might bleed into the new chapter. But with any luck, fans could get their long-awaited crossover appearance from Kate Winslet's Mare Sheehan.
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