HBO's Task Just Claimed the True Detective Throne

Let’s be honest: after the first season of True Detective in 2014, HBO created its own monster. That show was so good—so obsessed-over, rewatched, memed, and quoted—that every hardboiled crime drama since has had to crawl out from under its shadow. HBO itself hasn’t quite recaptured that lightning in a bottle, despite throwing a lot of talented people and complex timelines at the problem.

But now comes Task—HBO’s latest Philly-based noir from Brad Ingelsby (the same guy who gave us Mare of Easttown), starring Mark Ruffalo. It dropped in 2025, and let's just say the critics did not hold back: a whopping 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Ruffalo’s performance had people doing that McConaughey-in-True-Detective Season 1 thing—everyone suddenly wants to buy his character a Lone Star.

Why Task Is the Heir to True Detective

The parallels are obvious. Both shows live and die by their leads. Both are more about the emotional toll than the twists and turns. Ingelsby is pulling a Nic Pizzolatto (in the good early seasons way), and Ruffalo’s Tom Brandis has a whiff of existential dread that’ll be instantly familiar to anyone who still quotes Rust Cohle in casual conversation.

What’s wild is, Ingelsby is batting a thousand for HBO crime dramas—Mare of Easttown and now Task are both major hits. Meanwhile, none of the True Detective sequels ever matched the first.

The timing could not be better: True Detective Season 4, aka Night Country, wrapped up in 2024, and Season 5 is at least a year out. Word is, filming for Season 5 (set in Jamaica Bay, New York) won’t even start until 2026, and the premiere could land in 2027. There’s a rumor Nicolas Cage might take the lead, but nothing’s locked in. In other words—if you need your fix of moody detectives with messy personal lives, you’re not getting it from True Detective anytime soon.

Mahershala Ali Jumps from One Crime Drama to Another

Here’s where things get interesting. Mahershala Ali, who was honestly the best thing about True Detective Season 3, just signed on for Task Season 2. If you watched his performance as Detective Wayne Hays—a role that asked him to play the same character across multiple decades and even faced with Alzheimer’s—it was a total showcase. The show was kind of a mess, but Ali held it together (he even snagged Emmy and SAG nods, while the rest of the season was largely ignored).

In Task Season 2, Ali’s playing Eddie Barnes, a veteran DEA agent in Philly. And he’s not just passing through—his team is clashing head-to-head with Ruffalo’s unit. Basically, this sets up a showdown between two heavy hitters, with Ali and Ruffalo going toe-to-toe as adversaries. If Ali brings the same kind of gravity and slow-burn internal drama as Wayne Hays, this is going to be can’t-miss TV.

Quick rundown: What’s actually happening?

• Task Season 1 hit HBO in 2025; critics and fans are calling it the new standard for TV crime.
• Mark Ruffalo stars as Tom Brandis, a morally complicated detective at the center of all the action.
• Mahershala Ali, fresh off his memorable True Detective run, will join Season 2 as a high-powered DEA agent—expect fireworks.
• True Detective Season 5 is in the distant future; they’re talking 2027 for a release, and Nicolas Cage is rumored (but far from confirmed) to star.

The Genre Godfather Seal of Approval

The fact that Ali is making the jump from True Detective to Task somehow makes the connection between the two even more explicit. In Ali’s own words:

'This job is about getting lost in someone else’s world. That’s what we’re all chasing, right?'

Translation: it’s a weirdly poetic, totally on-brand move for a guy who takes his crime drama seriously. And if you like these kinds of gritty, dialogue-heavy character pieces, it feels like Task is only getting started.

Filming on Task Season 2 hasn’t begun yet, but with Ali and Ruffalo locked in, HBO is about to double down on what makes these shows tick: mood, acting chops, and the kind of storytelling that gets viewers obsessing over every little detail. The True Detective void is being filled—finally—with something that feels both new and familiar.