The Delco accents are as thick as an overstuffed Wawa hoagie in the new crime drama “Task,” created by Brad Ingelsby. The dialect’s peculiarities will be familiar to anyone who has watched Ingelsby’s last series, “Mare of Easttown,” which featured a dark, compelling murder mystery but is best remembered for a de-glammed Kate Winslet housing Cheez Whiz and flattening her vowels.
“Task,” premiering Sunday on HBO, isn’t a sequel to “Mare,” but it is set in the same universe of rural, depressed Pennsylvania. And it’s a worthy follow-up, with a steady lead performance from Mark Ruffalo and several breakout turns from the sprawling supporting cast.
The main difference between the series is that in “Task” viewers know who is committing the crimes, with Ruffalo’s Tom, a former priest turned F.B.I. agent, pursuing a stickup gang led by Robbie, a mostly well-intentioned loser played by Tom Pelphrey.
Robbie, who steals money from other criminals, initially presents as a kind of Robin Hood. But his plans for easy cash go awry when a robbery results in four dead bodies.
The bloodshed intensifies the pressure on Tom and his task force to identify the perpetrators and end their crime spree. As the episodes, released weekly, progress, Tom’s team gets closer to Robbie while both are threatened by a violent gang known as the Dark Hearts — gruff, tattooed bad guys who are the least interesting part of the story.
“Task” doesn’t really thrive on major revelations. Instead, it works best as a series of character studies — of Tom and of Robbie, who both wrestle with grief after gutting personal losses, and of the people in their orbit. Emilia Jones (“CODA”) is a standout as Robbie’s niece, forced into a caretaker role at far too young an age. She has a counterpart in Lizzie (Alison Oliver), an erratic oddball member of Tom’s crew who is better at her job than she initially seems.
Ingelsby uses these and other lost souls to craft a tragic but ultimately hopeful tale about forgiveness and redemption, one that is worth a return trip to Pennsylvania.
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