The HBO Series That Stephen King Says Is Unlike Anything Else

It's an impressive feat to get the approval of one of the greatest living storytellers, but somehow, an HBO thriller  has managed to do just that. Taking to X to give his two cents on what's worth watching, author Stephen King suggests that Brad Ingelsby's "Task" delivers something special with the help of Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, and an incredible supporting cast, telling a raw and honest story about doing what's best for family — by any means necessary.

The follow-up story from the writer of "Mare of Easttown" (which features Kate Winslet as one of the greatest HBO characters ever) follows Mark Ruffalo as seasoned FBI agent Tom Brandis, who is appointed to a new case involving the armed robberies of locations already on the law's radar. Tom Pelphrey plays Robert Prendergast, a sanitation worker and criminal who has Brandis on his tail, but is too busy stealing and striking back at an old acquaintance responsible for tearing his life apart to realize it.

"There are lots of good dramas on streaming TV," King writes. "We really do live in a golden age. But 'TASK' (HBO) has one thing many of the others lack: Soul." It's an accurate observation, particularly when you compare this show to Inglesby's debut HBO series, which followed a detective making tough choices even when she wasn't on the case.

So far, Brad Ingelsby is setting a trend for his characters, who are constantly battling with their morality, regardless of which side of the law they're operating on. "Task" is more than a cops-and-robbers show. It's a tale about very different families doing what it takes to stay together, even if that means that they're the villains of their own stories. Brandis and Prendergast are the struggling heads of their respective households, facing difficult challenges that in turn become the most compelling aspects of the show. While Robert is on a mission of vengeance, hoping to give his family a better life, Tom is dealing with a trauma that has ripped through his home, and no matter how hard he tries, he can't get over it. That's even before shootouts and house raids come into play for a job he is so clearly done with.

Ingelsby handles this balance brilliantly, much as he did with "Mare of Easttown" in which complicated characters also have motivations that are absolutely understandable, no matter how misguided they might be. It's here where the "soul" King rightfully highlights presents itself, and we can only hope that Ingelsby has plenty more to put into his future works now that the "Task" is complete.