Task

“Task is relentlessly bleak, humourless and narratively airless. It flattens the characters into ciphers, deadens the story and as time goes on, makes the whole thing inescapably boring. But if formulaic yet weighty stuff is your bag, if gestures towards bigger issues rather than actual interrogations of them are all you’re up to at the moment, then a relatively enjoyable Task lies before you. For anything else, you can always rewatch Mare of Easttown.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The plotting is serviceable, the pacing is glacial and the presence of two single fathers grappling with grief, guilt and fury means the doomy darkness can feel overwhelming. This could do with some of Mare’s warmth and levity, but the depth and texture of the drama are spellbinding.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey are fine actors who elicit sympathy for their characters, and you will root for both of them if you stick it out for the full seven episodes. But the pace is slow and the set-up too long. Details of Brandis’s personal life are drip-fed to the viewer, and those with little patience may not persevere past episode one.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“The tone of the first episode was all over the place, veering from comedy to bloody violence and arty passages without dialogue. Oh, and I needed subtitles for the mumbly slurring that Ruffalo and Pelphrey use as a substitute for acting. No doubt it will win hatfuls of awards.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Family trauma, grief, different expressions of masculinity and fatherhood are at the centre of Task, all fertile subjects that writer Brad Inglesby has proved he has the mettle to explore without holding punches. Task will put your attention span through its paces, but stick with it – you will be rewarded.”
Emily Baker, The i

“A cat-and-mouse game between criminals and the authorities set in America’s drug-addicted working-class communities. That’s a story we’ve seen before. But Ingelsby tells it well, and he’s assembled a fine cast here. Even if it doesn’t prove as compulsive viewing as Ingelsby’s previous work, Task is grown-up, sophisticated, well-made drama.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent