A New Crime Drama With Tragic Protagonist Like Mare of Easttown

Mare of Easttown creator’s new HBO series, Task, repeats its predecessor’s tragic story setup, establishing protagonists with one massive, unimaginable common experience.

Brad Ingelsby’s Mare of Easttown hit HBO in 2021 and starred Kate Winslet as the titular character. Mare, a detective, was tasked with discovering who was responsible for a recent murder in her small town, all the while battling with her own inner demons. Now, Ingelsby is at it again with Task, another crime drama with a primary investigator with a tragic past.

Tom & Mare Both Begin Task & Mare Of Easttown After Unimaginable Family Tragedies

Image via HBO

It’s established early on in Mare of Easttown that Winslet’s character had recently been through something terrible. It took several episodes for the series to ultimately reveal what had happened. We finally discover that Mare’s son, Kevin, died by suicide. Mare of Easttown steadily explores how this grief applies to Mare’s investigation, and, of course, her family.

Interestingly, Ingelsby’s new series has taken a similar approach with its new protagonist. Mark Ruffalo plays Tom Brandis, an FBI agent who clearly carries a similar sort of pain and guilt as Winslet’s character in Mare of Easttown. Task doesn’t take as long to reveal the specifics, however. By episode 2, we find out that Tom’s son, who was off his meds, pushed his mother down the stairs, killing her.

Like Mare, Tom is very evidently a broken man in Task. He is a heavy drinker, and the responsibility of his care frequently falls on his teenage daughter. However, when it comes to Tom’s work with the FBI, he is highly competent. Both Task and Mare of Easttown explore this sort of compartmentalization in their characters, demonstrating that terrible balance law enforcement must find between their jobs and personal mental pain.

Tom & Mare’s Families Are Both Divided After The Tragic Deaths

Photo Credit of MovieStillsDB

When looking at these two series from Ingelsby, it’s clear that this screenwriter is drawn to a specific family dynamic. Task and Mare of Easttown both explore how Tom and Mare approach their already traumatic jobs following their personal tragedies, but they also dive into what this means for their families. In both cases, the unexpected deaths create a rift between parents, children, and siblings.

Mare of Easttown carried audiences through Mare’s healing, which meant we saw her relationship with her daughter shift and evolve as they both dealt with Kevin’s death. Task has set up a similar story. So far, we have seen the division within Tom’s family, especially between his daughters, who have different perspectives on their brother’s crime. The big question now is whether they, too, can heal.