Ingelsby, who also created “Mare of Easttown,” has established himself as the TV poet of Delco, its blue-collar workers and its perpetual shades of autumn. Like the best dramatists, he places everyday people in extreme circumstances that test their very existence. Ruffalo’s Tom Brandis, a priest-turned-FBI agent, is reeling from an unspeakably violent family tragedy; he’d now rather slug vodka from a plastic Phillies cup than help solve crime. Pelphrey’s Robbie, who, like Tom, is hiding behind a heavy beard and haunted eyes, leads his friends Cliff (Raúl Castillo) and Peaches (Owen Teague) on a series of armed robberies that seem to target the same treacherous biker gang. Robbie has a beef, with the gang and with the world. Like Omar Little in “The Wire,” who zealously robbed the Barksdale crew of their drugs, he seeks retribution against a specific group of bad guys.
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Ingelsby and his directors, Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield, tie it all together with fluid editing and cinematography choices that connect the two parties; once the biker gang enters the picture, it forms the third leg of what becomes a jagged triangle. Family dynamics are also key, and “Task” peoples the edges of the story with vivid supporting players, all of whom keep the whole thing relentlessly churning. Tom has two daughters, one teen (Silvia Dionicio) and one adult (Phoebe Fox), also shattered; he also has the task force that gives the series its title. Alison Oliver, Thuso Mbedu, and Fabien Frankel are all excellent as the mismatched cops trying to figure out their broken boss.
Then there’s Robbie, who has his own domestic mess. He’s living with his niece (Emilia Jones) and his own kids, all of whom seem to sense his downward spiral. And once he robs that wrong dope house, they become part of that spiral. Ingelsby keeps all of this moving through seven tense episodes, tightening the screws as he slowly expands the universe of the series. “Task” is a series that deftly, patiently reveals information and character motivation, but it’s not a puzzle. It moves methodically but not slowly, connecting the strands of its web until you’re ensnared. That doesn’t take long.
The caustically lived-in dialogue adds a lot of flavor. “I’m an unrefined old bitch,” Tom’s boss (Martha Plimpton) tells him as she explains that she’s being forced into retirement. And here’s Robbie’s 21-year-old niece, Maeve, describing a guy she’s been seeing to a friend: “six out of 10. He needs a shave, and his ass is kind of flat.” After “Mare of Easttown,” there was no doubt that Ingelsby could write fiery, fully developed female characters, and here he’s got a bunch of ’em.
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Drugs represent one plague in “Task,” but the more pervasive one is loneliness. Both Tom and Robbie have been isolated by tragedy, but their isolation also feels part and parcel of their surroundings, and the times in which they live. “I’m God’s lonely man,” Travis Bickle intoned 49 years ago in “Taxi Driver,” and the heroes of “Task” could certainly relate. Near the beginning of the series Robbie and Cliff discuss the merits and pitfalls of online dating; they laugh about it a little, but Robbie puts his aims bluntly and with disarming tenderness: “I need a life companion.” Perhaps someone to dissuade him from robbing dope houses.
Pelphrey, his eyes staring into nothingness, and Ruffalo, his shoulders hunched beneath the weight of the world, are outstanding, as are the supporting players, embodying gritty souls caught up in unforgiving machinations — until there is, somehow, some forgiveness. Ingelsby understands that the extremes of the crime genre provide the perfect basis for searing human drama, provided they’re handled with skill and conviction. “Task” has more than enough of both.
TASK
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, Silvia Dionicio, Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, Raúl Castillo, Alison Oliver, Thuso Mbedu, and Fabien Frankel. Premieres Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. and HBO Max
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This story has been updated to clarify that “Task” is a drama series.
Chris Vognar can be reached at chris.vognar@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram at @chrisvognar and on Bluesky at chrisvognar.bsky.social.
