Mark Ruffalo's 7-Episode Crime Thriller Series Is A Must-Watch On HBO Max

When he's not playing the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Hulk or making low-key digs at "Star Wars," Mark Ruffalo moonlights as a star of prestige television. Two years after his stint in the Netflix war drama series "All the Light We Cannot See," Ruffalo took on the lead role in "Task," an action thriller miniseries that debuted on HBO on September 7, 2025. The show's seventh and final episode aired on October 19, 2025, and it is now available to watch in full on HBO Max, where it's been doing very well — it shot into the streamer's top 10 chart when it was airing and is still there as of this writing.

In "Task," Ruffalo plays Tom Brandis, a Pennsylvania priest-turned-FBI agent trying to take down the trap houses that have been set up by a very powerful local biker gang. Critically acclaimed with an impressive 96% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, "Task" is the brainchild of film and television writer/producer Brad Ingelsby. He previously created the heartbreaking HBO miniseries "Mare of Easttown," for which he also landed an Oscar-level actor typically associated with big screen work — Kate Winslet — for the lead role.

Though Mark Ruffalo is primarily known as a movie actor, he has gradually been establishing an impressive body of small screen work. While he's a four-time Oscar nominee, he has yet to win an Academy Award, but Ruffalo already has two Emmys under his belt. The actor scored his first Emmy win as part of the cast of "The Normal Heart," which scooped the award for outstanding television movie in 2014, and he won his first individual Emmy six years later for the miniseries "I Know This Much Is True," triumphing in the outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie category.

While it's still too soon for "Task" to be nominated, the reviews suggest that there's a good chance the show will make a strong showing at the next Emmy Awards. It has already made multiple outlets' best of 2025 television lists, and it is sure to make many more as the year closes out and more lists roll in. If you haven't watched "Task" for yourself, do so as soon as possible — and don't be surprised if you immediately declare it one of your own favorite shows of the year. And once you've finished it, there are several other shows like "Task" to check out for your next action thriller fix.