TASK: Episodes 1.1

Here's the honest tension: TASK is genuinely well made, and it's still not worth your time. HBO's production values are on full display — phenomenal cinematography, real locations, grounded and compelling performances from both leads. Craft-wise, this is a three-star hour of television.

But craft isn't the whole verdict. The story spends its first episode building sympathy for a burglar who robs and threatens strangers to feed his family, framing him as a misunderstood father figure rather than a man doing wrong. Layer that over strong violence, a police officer bleeding to death onscreen, fifteen profanities, drinking to the point of blackout, and drug dealing, and you have a show whose polish makes its compromises easier to swallow, not harder.

Its one strength worth naming: a grieving widower turning to a priest, and two men trying, imperfectly, to be fathers. That's not nothing. It's just not enough to outweigh everything stacked against it. Skip this one.

In the suburbs of Philadelphia, veteran FBI agent Tom Brandis assembles a task force to hunt down a gang of burglars terrorizing the area. Meanwhile, sanitary engineer Robbie Prendergrast — recently responsible for his rebellious niece after his brother's death — is desperate to keep his struggling household afloat. He and his crew plan one more high-stakes robbery. The two men's paths are set to cross.

Three stars here means the filmmaking is a genuine cut above — and the moral content pulls it back from anything higher. The cinematography, color grading, and shot composition are described as phenomenal; real locations, worn-down houses, and handheld camera work give the show a gritty, lived-in realism. Both leads deliver grounded, compelling performances.

The deficit isn't craft — it's conscience. The episode is built to make you sympathize with Robbie's crimes rather than question them, and that choice, however skillfully executed, is the show's central flaw.

TASK runs on a mixed worldview — mostly pagan, with a few genuine Christian threads woven through. On the good side: both leading men are trying, however imperfectly, to be fathers to the people who depend on them. Tom Brandis grieves his late wife by turning to a Catholic priest rather than numbing the pain, and he takes seriously his duty to uphold the law and pursue justice for his city.

But the show's central move works against that better instinct. It spends its opening hour building sympathy for Robbie, a man who robs and threatens strangers, casting him as a misunderstood provider rather than a wrongdoer. An antagonist who "minimizes casualties" during his crimes is still committing crimes, and a story that asks you to root for him is asking you to blur a line Scripture draws sharply: "Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—both are detestable to the Lord" (Proverbs 17:15).

Underneath the crime plot is a real ache — for a father, for a wife, for a family that doesn't fall apart. That longing is legitimate; the show just looks for peace in the wrong places. Scripture points grieving, striving people somewhere sturdier: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).

TASK proves HBO can still shoot a gorgeous, well-acted hour of television — and proves, once again, that craft alone isn't enough to earn your family's time. A story that asks you to root for its criminal, wrapped in heavy violence and profanity, isn't worth the trade-off, however sharp the cinematography. Our answer stands: skip it. Looking for something safer for movie night? Start here:.