Is Task based on a true story? Here's what you need to know about the HBO crime drama

HBO's latest crime drama series Task, starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey, premiered on September 7, 2025. The series delves into the lives of two men, one a former priest turned FBI agent, Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo), and the other, a sanitation worker who robs houses at night, Robbie Predergrast (Tom Phelphery). The intense chase between the two keeps the viewers hooked to their screens. The story feels real, the circumstances/world created feel lively, and somehow everything's deeply human.

Since the premiere, viewers have been eager to know whether Task is a true story or not. Turns out, HBO's latest crime drama series Task is not based on a true story; it is fictional, but it draws inspiration from real lives. Additionally, in an interview with IndieWire, creator Brad Ingelsby explained how the plot's structure in HBO's Task is inspired by Michael Mann's 1995 movie, Heat.

"What Michael Mann was able to do, in my opinion, was you wanted Robert De Niro to get away, and you wanted Al Pacino to get him. You knew those two things couldn’t coexist, and so the tension was, ‘Oh my God, what’s going to happen? Because I love them both.’ And I wanted the same for this show.”

Continue reading to know more.

Is HBO's Task based on a true story?

HBO's crime drama starring Mark Ruffalo is not based on true events. Creator Brad Ingelsby didn't rely on headlines or cold facts; he took inspiration from people he knew, places he grew up in, and the stories he overheard. He set the series in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the same suburban terrain that shaped his earlier works

Mark Ruffalo's character, Tom Brandis, the ex-priest turned FBI investigator, has roots in Ingelsby's family history. Brandis is based on Ingelsby's uncle, who was an Augustinian priest. His uncle once walked away from the church to marry, and the tension between faith, loss, and purpose became a seed for the protagonist of the series.

For Robbie Prendergrast, the criminal side of the story, Ingelsby looked to working-class roles that people often overlook. In interviews, he notes how trash collectors go through our lives quietly, and yet they see what we leave behind.

Ingelsby also recruited advisors, former law enforcement, locals, and even people with backgrounds in biker culture to coach the authenticity into the series. Speaking to IndieWire, EP and director Jeremiah Zagar revealed how Ingelsby shapes such plots/narratives that they feel like reality.

“I think that’s what’s so cool about what Brad does; he takes genre, and he uses it as a moving train, whose passengers are people you’ve never met before. The masks, the collision course, the crime, the drug houses — he’s using these tropes that we find familiar to explore something completely new. "

He further added,

"It’s such a beautiful way of communicating the deep, powerful, painful emotions that we as a society aren’t as used to grappling with on television and in the movies.”

Realism without reality

While Task isn't a true story, it feels like a real one. Ingelsby built the series with careful research and a commitment to realism. He hired law enforcement consultants to design Tom's task force and capture the hierarchy, tension, and grind inside such operations. The dialogue, the rhythm of small-town life, and the moral exhaustion of the characters all stem from lived experience; thus, they feel real.

That's Ingelsby's trademark. Whether it's Mare of Easttown or Task, he tells stories of ordinary people caught in extraordinary situations. He doesn't chase glam or sensational twists. Every detail, from the worn-down neighborhood to Tom's faith, reminds us that there's a real world beyond the rustic sets of Hollywood.

HBO's Task is not based on real-life events, but Inglesby's conscious choice of taking inspiration from real characters and situations makes it raw and relatable.

What makes Task powerful isn't just the plot or the cast; it's how it blurs the line between right and wrong. Ingelsby doesn't write clean heroes or villains. He writes people. People who make mistakes, people who learn and unlearn things. Ingelsby gave both Tom and Robbie grief of their own, and somewhere, they feel similar. While Tom's wife dies, leaving him to raise their teenage daughter, Robbie is too grieving his brother's death and broken marriage. They might be on opposite sides of the law, but they share the same pain.

New episodes drop every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.

Also read: Task: The real story that inspired the Dark Hearts biker gang explored

Trending

Follow SoapCentral for more such updates!

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback