While writing a fictional tale centred on the world of crime, the primary question is whether it is the world that is created first or the characters. Similar to the chicken and egg problem. Brad Inglesby, who previously created Mare of Easttown (2021), mentions that his upcoming series, Task (2025), originated from its lead characters, FBI Agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) and unsuspecting criminal Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey). But Ingelsby also wanted the Task to be much more unique than Mare of Easttown. "I knew it couldn't be a whodunit, because Mare was a whodunit. And I felt like the tension could be a collision course. Once I started to put those pieces together, I wanted to tell another story in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA (Delco). It's the blood in my veins, it's the people I know, and it's the people I care about, and it's the way I grew up," says Ingelsby.
Task follows the story of a Task Force under the aegis of the USA's FBI, headed by Tom Brandis. The task force is established to uncover the perpetrators of a series of robberies, committed by Robbie, that have taken place in drug houses belonging to a biker gang. When asked if Task can be termed as a cat and mouse story, Ingelsby explains, "I think it is. In one way, I think we wrap our arms around the genre of cat and mouse. But I hope what separates the show is the level of care we give to all the characters, so that you care about everybody in the show, not just the cops, but also the criminals and the bad guys. So I think in a way, it is a cat and mouse, but it's also a drama about lives under pressure, people who are backed into a corner, who don't have choices."
Robbie is a man who has run out of choices. He wants his children to lead a better life than he did. But instead of leading a straightforward life, he goes down a course that endangers everybody around him. Speaking about Robbie's choices as a father, Pelphrey says, "I just became a father myself. So, I finally knew things that I had only imagined earlier. I could really feel that I would do anything for my child. Anything. So then to get to play Robbie, where everything he's doing is for the sake of his children, is something I didn't need to research. I didn't have to ask anyone about it. I just know it in my bones."
Someone who is affected by Robbie's choices is his niece, Maeve, played by Emilia Jones. Beyond having to move on from personal losses, Maeve is also forced to take up responsibilities that are beyond her age. "I definitely related to Maeve in that I'm really close with my family, and I also would do anything for my family. She has such a sense of family and love, and I really related to her in that way," says Jones when talking about Maeve. She adds, "People have related Maeve to Ruby from CODA in that they're both young people who are shouldering a lot of adult responsibility, and it made me realise maybe that is why I feel connected to Maeve, because I have somewhat played a similar role."
Task, which premiered on September 8 on JioHotstar, delves into the tension that arises from the dynamics of a broken family. "Mare was a character study. It was about a woman who wasn't going to face the death of her son. And I think Task is the same, it's a character drama. In terms of Robbie, it is a story of sacrifice. In terms of Tom, it's a story of forgiveness and acceptance. And so I think I did not want to lose sight of that. It is okay to have a moment of tension, but we can't lose sight of what the show is about. And I'm always mindful as a writer to have moments of both," concludes Ingelsby.
