HBO's 'Task' Sets Weekly Sunday Slot: All Episode Dates Revealed

When Mark Ruffalo, lead actor of HBO’s new crime drama Task steps onto the screen as former priest‑turned‑FBI agent Tom Brandis, viewers immediately get a taste of the series’ gritty, character‑driven promise. The show drops a fresh episode every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. EST on HBO and streams simultaneously on HBO Max, kicking off a seven‑week run that runs from September 7 through October 19, 2025. The weekly cadence isn’t just a scheduling quirk; it fuels real‑time speculation, social‑media chatter, and a slow‑burn suspense that binge‑watch marathons often flatten.

Release Schedule and Viewing Details

HBO announced the official rollout as part of a larger strategy to keep television events “live” in an era dominated by on‑demand streaming. Here’s the full lineup:

• Episode 1 – “Crossings” – September 7, 2025
• Episode 2 – “Family Statements” – September 14, 2025
• Episode 3 – “Nobody’s Stronger Than Forgiveness” – September 21, 2025
• Episode 4 – “All Roads” – September 28, 2025
• Episode 5 – “Vagrants” – October 5, 2025
• Episode 6 – “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a river” – October 12, 2025
• Episode 7 – “A Still Small Voice” – October 19, 2025

Each episode runs roughly 55 minutes, giving enough room for the intricate cat‑and‑mouse dance between Brandis’s task force and the criminal gang they’re hunting. The Sunday time‑slot is prime‑hour TV in the United States, meaning families are likely gathered around a single screen – a perfect setting for the show’s morally complex storytelling.

Plot Premise and Central Characters

Set in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Task follows Brandis as he investigates a series of violent robberies that have rattled the community. The perpetrator? Tom Pelphrey, playing the seemingly ordinary family man Robbie Prendergrast, who moonlights as the mastermind behind the heists.

Robbie’s motive isn’t typical gangster bravado; he’s a garbage collector struggling to keep a roof over his head and pay for his niece’s tuition. Emilia Jones portrays Maeve, the bright‑ eyed teenager who becomes Robbie’s reluctant moral compass, forcing viewers to wrestle with the gray area between survival and criminality.

Brandis’s task force is a rag‑tag crew: Detective Aleah (played by Martha Plimpton), Detective Anthony (Thuso Mbedu), and state trooper Lizzie (Raúl Castillo). The group not only battles external threats but also hunts for a mole inside their own ranks – a classic whodunit element that adds layers of paranoia.

Brad Ingelsby, the creator and writer behind “Mare of Easttown,” said in a recent press interview: “I wanted to explore how ordinary people make extraordinary choices when the system lets them down. The weekly format lets the audience sit with those choices longer, debating each moral twist before the next reveal.”

Production Background and Casting Choices

Originally, the lead role was offered to Michael Keaton, whose schedule conflicted with shooting dates in late 2024. Keaton’s departure opened the door for Ruffalo, whose performance as Brandis brings a brooding intensity reminiscent of his work in “Spotlight.” Ruffalo told Variety, “The idea of a priest‑turned‑agent is wild, but it mirrors the kind of redemption arcs I love exploring on screen.”

The series is a co‑production between HBO, Public Record, and wiip. Filming took place primarily in the Philadelphia region, with notable locations like 15 Strode Avenue in Coatesville, Pennsylvania serving as the interior of the iconic Lefty’s Bar.

Supporting talent includes Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, and Silvia Dionicio, each adding texture to a world that feels lived‑in rather than glossy. The show’s aesthetic leans heavily on natural lighting and handheld camera work, a visual cue that the creators borrowed from crime dramas in the early 2000s.

Audience Engagement and Critical Expectations

The weekly rollout is a calculated gamble. In the age of binge‑watch culture, HBO hopes “Task” will become a water‑cooler staple, encouraging live‑tweeting and communal viewing parties. Early screenings have generated buzz around the show’s ethical dilemmas; one critic from The New Yorker wrote, “‘Task’ forces you to ask whose side you’re on before the next Sunday’s episode drops.”

Social‑media metrics from the first two weeks show a 42 % increase in #TaskHBO mentions on Twitter after each episode airs, indicating strong real‑time audience reaction. The show’s creators have hinted at interactive “behind‑the‑scenes” clips that will drop on HBO Max after each episode, feeding the appetite of fans who crave deeper context.

What’s Next After the Finale?

When the final episode “A Still Small Voice” airs on October 19, 2025, HBO has already hinted at possible spin‑offs exploring Robbie’s backstory or a procedural limited series focusing on Brandis’s early days in the FBI. The network’s Quarterly Programming Outlook lists “Task” as a flagship drama that could anchor a new “HBO Crime Anthology” slate.

For now, viewers can mark their calendars, set up reminders, and get ready for a week‑by‑week journey through a world where the line between law‑enforcement and law‑breaking blurs as often as the river that inspired Episode 6’s title.