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Mark Ruffalo is heading back to television, and this time he’s trading superhero suits for an FBI badge. HBO’s Task, from Mare of Easttown mastermind Brad Ingelsby, is gearing up for a September 7, 2025 premiere. The limited series follows a determined federal agent tracking a crew of masked robbers terrorizing the Philadelphia suburbs. Ruffalo leads an impressive cast including Tom Pelphrey, Thuso Mbedu, and Fabien Frankel. From creekside stakeouts to broccoli rabe references, this crime drama looks ready to deliver the kind of sharp storytelling HBO fans crave.
Mark Ruffalo Stars in HBO’s Pennsylvania Crime Drama Task
HBO is doubling down on Pennsylvania crime stories, and Brad Ingelsby is once again at the wheel. After the Emmy-winning success of v, Ingelsby returns with Task, a limited series that trades small-town murder for large-scale robbery and puts Mark Ruffalo at the center of the action.
Slated for a September 7, 2025, premiere, the show follows Philadelphia-based FBI agent Tom, played by Ruffalo, as he leads a special task force to shut down a series of violent home invasions. The robberies are orchestrated by a man who seems ordinary on the surface but hides a dangerous criminal streak, brought to life by Tom Pelphrey (Outer Range).
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The team assembled to catch him is stacked. Fabien Frankel (House of the Dragon), Alison Oliver (Conversations with Friends), and Thuso Mbedu (The Underground Railroad) join Ruffalo’s on-screen unit. Emilia Jones, Raúl Castillo, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, and Amanda Mahlaba round out the cast. Each plays a role in the tense chase across Philadelphia and its outskirts.
Frankel has already teased that his character comes with plenty of local personality. “I play a young detective with the most Philly slang out of everyone, because I’m from South Philly,” he told Esquire last July. “I talk about Angelo’s broccoli rabe. I’m doing a Wawa run every day. I mean, I’m right in the thick of all the Philly references.”
The first teaser, released earlier this year, offers a moody glimpse at what’s to come. Ruffalo and his team wade through creeks (affectionately known as “cricks” to locals) in search of the suspects. Playing over the visuals is Guns N’ Roses’ “Patience,” with Pelphrey’s character delivering a haunting voiceover: “I’ve long prayed for an answer to my problems, but have never received a response. All I’ve got in return is silence.”
The combination of blue-collar authenticity, tense investigative drama, and morally complex characters echoes the DNA of True Detective while still feeling distinctly his own. While the story’s scale has expanded from the neighborhood focus of Mare of Easttown, the series keeps its feet firmly planted in local soil. With Ruffalo stepping into his first major TV role since I Know This Much Is True, and Ingelsby returning to his storytelling roots, Task is positioned to be one of HBO’s most talked-about fall premieres.
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