Showrunner Brad Inglesby on Building HBO Max’s Task
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For Task creator and showrunner Brad Inglesby, the true heart of the series lies somewhere deep in creating questions of faith, forgiveness, human connection and the complicated ways people find their way back to hope.
Speaking with Welcome to the Stage, Inglesby reflected on the emotional foundations of the series, the unlikely relationship between FBI agent Tom (Mark Ruffalo) and career criminal Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) and why he has always been more interested in flawed people than genre archetypes.
At the center of Task is Tom, played by Mark Ruffalo, a former priest whose life has been fundamentally altered by tragedy. Inglesby explained that the character emerged from conversations with his uncle, who left the priesthood and experienced his own evolving relationship with faith over the years.
“I was interested in a character whose whole life, everything he held as truth had come crumbling down,” Inglesby explained. Rather than telling a straightforward procedural story, he wanted to explore how someone who feels abandoned by God might slowly rebuild a belief system, not necessarily through religion, but through witnessing goodness in others.
That journey became the emotional backbone of the series. While Task delivers the suspense and momentum audiences expect from a thriller, Inglesby viewed the genre as a vehicle for exploring larger philosophical questions. Through Tom’s interactions with Robbie and the task force, the series examines whether people can find redemption after immense pain and whether forgiveness is truly possible.
Tom’s emotional arc culminates in one of the season’s most powerful moments: forgiving his son. Inglesby revealed that this destination was always clear to him, but getting there required meticulous character work. The challenge was ensuring that every step felt earned. The answer, he said, was to carefully map Tom’s emotional state across each episode. Early in the series, Tom is adrift, consumed by anger and unable to forgive. Gradually, through a series of encounters and revelations, that anger begins to loosen its grip.
A key influence came from Inglesby’s uncle, who leads a forgiveness group. When asked why forgiveness is so difficult, his uncle’s answer was simple: people hold onto anger. Only by releasing it can they move forward.
Played with remarkable charisma and vulnerability by Tom Pelphrey, Robbie is a dreamer who maintains hope even when logic suggests he shouldn’t. Inglesby intentionally designed him as Tom’s emotional counterweight.
“Robbie has this belief when he probably shouldn’t, and Tom has no belief,” Inglesby said.
The contrast creates one of the show’s most compelling dynamics. Robbie consistently sees possibilities where others see dead ends. Even when circumstances become increasingly dire, he retains a childlike optimism and sense of wonder. That quality allows audiences to remain connected to him despite his criminal actions.
For Inglesby, Robbie’s appeal comes down to motivation. Every terrible decision he makes stems from a desire to provide a better life for his family. Audiences may not approve of his choices, but they understand the emotional need driving them.
That understanding extends to the show’s broader approach to character. Rather than creating heroes and villains, Inglesby was interested in portraying people who are simultaneously admirable and flawed.
“I really believe that in order for those action sequences later in the show to work, you have to fall in love with the characters,” he explained.
The same philosophy extends to smaller character beats throughout the series, including memorable scenes featuring Alison Oliver’s Lizzie. Whether she’s singing along to Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape” or sharing deeply personal conversations, Inglesby sees these moments as critical building blocks of audience investment.
As he noted, procedural storytelling could survive without many of these scenes. But emotionally, the series would be far less effective.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Task is Inglesby’s writing process itself. Unlike writers who construct exhaustive outlines, he prefers to discover the story alongside his characters. While he usually begins with a general destination in mind, he often finds the characters pulling him in unexpected directions. Rather than rigidly adhering to an outline, he allows the story to evolve organically, trusting that new ideas will emerge through the writing process.
That flexibility influenced the structure of Task itself. The series changed shape several times during development as Inglesby spent more time understanding the characters and determining exactly how much story was needed to earn each emotional payoff. That philosophy also informs his approach to genre. While Task contains familiar crime-drama elements, Inglesby deliberately subverts audience expectations.
By the time the story reaches its explosive climax, Inglesby wanted audiences to feel conflicted. Rather than rooting against someone, viewers are asked to grapple with the possibility that every character deserves empathy.
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Host Mara Webster talks with Task creator & showrunner Brad Inglesby
