"Seems a lot better": Here's how fans are comparing Mark Ruffalo's new crime drama Task with Apple TV+'s Dope Thief

Task is a seven-episode limited crime drama series created by Brad Ingelsby.

The series was released on HBO in September 2025, with Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) as a former priest who becomes an FBI agent. Soon after its release, fans began comparing the latest show with Apple TV+'s Dope Thief, which focuses on two criminals posing as DEA agents.

In Task, Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) is not impersonating an agent. Instead, he is directly involved in robbery to provide for his family, portraying a criminal with more emotional stakes. On the other hand, Tom has a past life and struggles with faith. These character backgrounds create an interesting plot with a cat-and-mouse chase shaping their personal arcs and blurring the lines of right and wrong.

In comparison to Dope Thief, Task offers nuanced characters with the plot helping redeem them by the end.

Here's how fans are comparing Mark Ruffalo's new crime drama Task with Apple TV+'s Dope Thief

Some fans expressed how, within the same world, Task is much better than Dope Thief.

"Seems a lot better than Dope Thief so far, IMO. Dope Thief started out strong but really fizzled by the end of the season. I don't think I'd watch another season," u/m4rk0358 commented on a Reddit thread.

Dope Thief premiered in March 2025. However, as of now, there has not been any update regarding its renewal. While the Apple TV+ show's plot explores the themes of hypocrisy and deception, Task centers on character trauma as well as how choices are shaped by personal loss.

Some fans have pointed out that Dope Thief deteriorated with each episode. Compared to this, the HBO show starts great, giving fans a flavour of everything it consists of within the first 15 minutes.

"My thought exactly. I really loved the first episode of Dope Thief, but liked it less and less each episode after that, before picking up again a little bit in the last 2 eps (Brian Tyree Henry is S-tier though). The Task premiere was really, really great and very efficient. I thought, at the 15-minute mark, I felt like I had a grasp on everything important without the show really saying all that much; you could just see it all very well playing out. And then they hit you with a few twists at the end," u/AsleepYesterday05 commented.

"I wasn’t blown away. It was an interesting choice to show the character development before anything really happened. It has potential," u/Apprehensive_Ruin692 wrote.

"I prefer task already, u/DressNaive2612 wrote.

"My biggest problem with Dope Thief wasn't even the story, which did start strong and dragged a bit in the middle, it's true. My biggest problem was that Bryan Tyree Henry vastly overuses one expression in this show - exasperated frustration - and every scene he is in gets channeled through that narrow acting range. That he got an Emmy nomination and Marin Ireland didn't is fucking ridiculous. I'd watch another season focused on Marin Ireland's character, but not one with Ray Driscoll as the central character, u/origami_anarchist wrote.

Trending

Both shows offer dual stories, like the story of the criminal and the one chasing them. In Task, Robbie commits crimes partly out of duty to family, while Tom wrestles with grief, faith, and justice. In Dope Thief, it’s about friendship, loyalty, and how desperation leads to bad choices. However, the HBO series is completely finding its way to the viewer's hearts, unlike Dope Thief, which started well but was unable to keep the momentum.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback