Both HBO series hail from creator Brad Ingelsby.

Crossover alert! Mare of Eastttown Emmy winner to reprise role in Task season 2

Both HBO series hail from creator Brad Ingelsby.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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July 9, 2026 1:05 p.m. ET

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Mark Ruffalo in ‘Task’. Credit:

Peter Kramer/HBO

- *Mare of Easttown* and *Task* will crossover in the new season of *Task*.

- Emmy-winner Julianne Nicholson is reprising her *Mare* role in *Task *season 2.

- Mahershala Ali was previously cast in the HBO crime drama.

HBO’s two worlds of Philadelphia crime are colliding.

*Mare of Easttown* star Julianne Nicholson will reprise her Emmy-winning role in season 2 of *Task*, ** has confirmed.

Both originally billed as limited series, *Mare* and *Task* hail from creator and showrunner Brad Ingelsby.

Julianne Nicholson in ‘Mare of Easttown’. Michele K. Short/HBO

Premiering in 2021, *Mare of Easttown* starred Kate Winslet as Mare Sheehan, a detective in a Philadelphia suburb investigating the murder of a teenage mother. The tragic case hits home when Mare discovers that the killer is the young son of her best friend, Lori (Nicholson).

Ingelsby’s follow-up, *Task*, debuted last year, and focused on Philadelphia-based FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo), who is put in charge of a task force looking into a series of violent robberies.

*Task* earned a second season after Ingelsby decided there was more story to tell, and he previously teased the possibility of a crossover. “They exist in the same world, so it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Mare walked into a Wawa that Tom was in,” he said of his shows. “I don’t have a story in mind, but I love the idea of their worlds intersecting.”

Mark Ruffalo promises 'Mare of Easttown' follow-up 'Task' will rip your heart out (exclusive)

Will there be a 'Task' season 2? What we know about the series’ future (and a potential 'Mare of Easttown' crossover)

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It’s unclear at this point how Nicholson’s Lori factors into the *Task* mix. After already adding Oscar winner Mahershala Ali for the new season, Nicholson brings plenty of her own bonafides to the roster. The actress won her second Emmy last year for her guest turn on *Hacks* and was also nominated for *Paradise*. She received her second nomination for *Paradise* on Wednesday.*****Task* season 1 received six Emmy nominations, including for Ruffalo and writing for Ingelsby.

Season 2 of *Task* will feature Tom taking the helm of a new task force, but the deeper the operation runs, the harder it is to tell who’s the target. Joining Nicholson, Ruffalo, and Ali in the cast are Harry Melling, Adam Nagaitis, Aminah Nieves, and Edgar Ramírez.

*Variety* first reported Nicholson’s *Task* casting.

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Source: “EW Crime”