Mahershala Ali Enters the “Task” Force: HBO’s Brad Ingelsby Drama Adds Two‑Time Oscar Winner
Mahershala Ali is ready to join forces with Mark Ruffalo in Brad Ingelsby’s excellent Task for season 2.
Ingelsby’s crime drama bowed in 2025 to critical acclaim—it follows his also-superb Mare of Easttown, which starred Kate Winslet doing the absolute best Philadelphia-area accent of all time—credibly cementing Ingelsby the king of gritty Delaware County dramas.
Task season 1 followed the parallel lives of two men who would eventually collide in dramatic and heartbreaking fashion. FBI Special Agent Tom Brandis (Ruffalo) is a former priest and alcoholic hiding behind a desk, lost in the tragic, accidental murder of his wife at the hands of his son, Ethan. Tom is eventually pulled back into the field, where his path will cross with Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey), a garbage truck driver who moonlights as a robbery crew chief, robbing drug stash houses led by the biker gang the Dark Hearts.
It was a riveting season, complete with double and triple crosses, anchored by moving performances from Pelphrey and Ruffalo, and Ingelsby’s sense of place, which grounded the plot in the specifics of living on the margins of the greater Philadelphia area. Ali will add even more gravitas to a great ensemble cast, which last season included Fabien Frankel, Emilia Jones, Thuso Mbedu, and Silvia Dionicio. The logline for season 2 reads: “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.”
Ali is set to star as Eddie Barnes, “a seasoned and well-respected DEA agent in Philadelphia whose team comes into conflict with Tom’s unit.”
Ali has a track record with HBO, having starred in season 3 of the hit anthology series True Detective. He’s also a two-time Oscar winner, first for Best Supporting Actor for his stellar work in Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, and the second for Best Supporting Actor in Green Book.
Task season 2 is currently expected to premiere on HBO in late 2026.
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Featured image: PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 03: Mahershala Ali attends the 37th Annual Palm Springs International Film Awards at Palm Springs Convention Center on January 03, 2026 in Palm Springs, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Society)
