Task, HBO's crime drama that pulled a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes after premiering last September, is heading into its second season with an entirely new directing team — and every director on it is a woman.
According to Collider, Salli Richardson-Whitfield will return as executive producer and director after helming three episodes of Season 1. She will be joined by three new directors: Georgi Banks-Davies, Clare Kilner, and Kitty Green. Richardson-Whitfield made history as the first Black woman nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series, a nomination she earned for her work on HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
The other incoming directors bring their own significant credits. Banks-Davies is a BAFTA award-winning director whose recent work includes The Night Manager Season 2. Kilner directed episodes of House of the Dragon. Green directed The Assistant.
The show was never supposed to run past one season. HBO originally planned Task as a miniseries, but greenlit a second season in November 2025 after the show's strong reception. Created and written by Brad Ingelsby, who also created Mare of Easttown, Task follows FBI agent Tom Brandis, played by Mark Ruffalo, as he leads a task force investigating a missing child. The first season examined fatherhood, male identity, and a motorcycle gang called the Dark Hearts. Much of the female cast, including characters played by Emilia Jones, Alison Oliver, and Margarita Levieva, were positioned as collateral damage to the choices made by the men around them.
The decision to bring in an all-female directing team appears connected to that critique. Season 2 will shift focus, though details on the new storyline remain limited. What is confirmed is that Ruffalo's Tom Brandis will return to lead a new task force investigating a different crime.
Two significant cast additions have also been announced. Oscar winner Mahershala Ali and Édgar Ramírez have both joined the show for Season 2. No details about their roles have been released.
Tom Pelphrey, who played Robbie Prendergrast in Season 1, was one of the more surprising characters in the first season. His arc mirrored Brandis's in ways the show used to examine how men on opposite sides of the law can be driven by the same impulses around family and protection. Whether Pelphrey returns for Season 2 has not been confirmed.
The directing change is the most visible structural shift heading into the new season, but it is not the only one. With a new crime, new cast members, and a new creative team behind the camera, Season 2 is shaping up as a significant departure from the show's original format. No premiere date has been announced.
