HBO’s New 7-Part Crime Thriller Is Already One Of Its Best

4 days ago 16

Published Feb 27, 2026, 12:40 PM EST

Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant who also covers Movies and Music. He's published over 2500 articles at SR, including weekly binge guides and dozens of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. He previously worked in Development at ABC Television & Lawrence Bender Productions.

Greg majored in Film Production at Chapman University's Dodge College. Greg also has years of broadcast TV production experience at major networks such as NBC, TNT, and ESPN. He currently lives in Greater Boston.

This HBO original crime thriller series is one of the prestige TV network's best series of all time, even though it was just released a few months ago. In fact, it was so critically acclaimed that the series spawned a second season and revitalized another HBO limited series into an upcoming franchise.

Task Is An Instant Classic Crime Thriller On HBO Max

Task is undoubtedly an instant classic HBO series that is worth all the hype it has received. Created by Brad Ingelsby, best known for creating Mare of Easttown and writing screenplays for films like The Way Back, Out of the Furnace, and The Lost Bus, Task elevates the crime thriller genre to create a uniquely immersive and emotional viewing experience from start to finish.

Task also has one of the best ensemble casts out of any new series in 2025, including Mark Ruffalo, Emilia Jones, Tom Pelphrey, Alison Oliver, Fabien Frankel, and more. Every actor in Task is elevated by its strong writing, both in dialogue and plot, and the tonal mastery of the series that blends tense thriller and mysterious crime elements with an underlying emotional connective tissue.

If you've seen 2021's Mare of Easttown on HBO, which won 4 Emmys, including individual acting awards for Kate Winslet, Evan Peters, and Julianne Nicholson, then you should already know the depth and quality to be expected from Task. Both series are entrenched in a small community shaken by a deadly crime and held together by shared trauma and empathetic support. In both cases, grief is a major theme and simultaneously drives and haunts many characters.

What Separates Task From Traditional Crime Dramas

Task is a rung above most crime thrillers due to the complexity of its characters, who are primarily humans experiencing long-term hardships and day-to-day struggles of life, and sorting through various consequences to find either justice, peace, or clarity. This intricate blend of the human condition contrasted with dark crime elements, which are sourced out of desperation and survival instinct, amounts to a series that is equally wide in scope and tight in focus.

Task can often feel like a familiar character-driven drama series that you nearly forget you're watching a crime mystery show. At just 7 episodes, the precise pivots between these fluctuating subgenres are arguably the most impressive quality of Task. The series not only keeps viewers in suspense about the central crime-driven plot, but also dives into introspective and philosophical areas having to do with both personal and professional dilemmas. This makes Task a more refined and sophisticated series than most traditional crime dramas.