Rapid Insights: ‘Task’ Shows Crime Dramas Win With Dual Leads Haunted by the Past

Who’s been tuning in for this intense new drama? 
We’re seeing an audience that skews toward men (56%) and those 35+ (92% on linear HBO)–a not-atypical viewership profile for male-fronted gritty crime thrillers on HBO. Shows like We Own This City, The Penguin, and the first season of True Detective had a similar bent. The showrunner’s own Mare of Easttown, however, leaned much more toward women (57%), likely because of its strong female lead.

What’s the show’s main pull? 
Parallel group dynamics. Task follows both a crew of violent drug den robbers, led by optimistic everyman Robbie, and the cross-agency task force assigned to bring them down, headed by haunted FBI agent Tom. The complex interplay within the teams, heightened by the compellingly unique personalities on each (Team Dynamics, 129), make up the show’s #1 ratings driver, with both sides balancing out the yin to the other’s yang. At the same time, Task goes deeper, tracing the fractured Family Relationships (116) in Tom and Robbie’s home lives as neither man can protect his loved ones from the darkness he’s drawn into at work. This secondary focus makes the series somewhat unique, as the Team Dynamics driver in gritty crime is much more likely to be paired with themes based on the group mission (Ambition & Drive, Dangerous Mission) rather than the players’ families back home.

How important are the individual protagonists? 
They drive the show’s bingeability. In addition to fitting the team dynamics, both Robbie and Tom make for fascinating character studies in their own right, with audiences eager to see them counter traumatic backstories (Overcoming Adversity, 135), grapple with questions of fatherhood and family, and generally confront their darkness and pain (Struggling, 114). The cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between them, with Robbie and his crew trying to outwit Tom and his team of agents (Being Hunted, 124)–culminating in a final resolute showdown (Confrontation, 110)–is keeping viewers glued to their seats, waiting to see how and if each man subdues his own demons.

What type of story is Task telling?
A multi-faceted one. While most obviously a dark, grim Crime (131) Thriller (119), the series also weaves in elements across several other genres to construct a more complex whole. Tom and Robbie’s archetypal standoff (cop vs criminal, good vs evil) alludes to a typical Western (118) while going much deeper, as both sides are much grayer than the stereotypical black and white.  At the same time, while Task is no whodunnit, it preserves some elements of Mystery (117) as Tom’s task force must link Robbie’s law-abiding public identity to his after-hours criminality (Secret Identity, 111), and both Tom and Robbie’s home lives offer up fertile ground for emotional Drama (113).

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