Mahershala Ali Joins ‘Task’ Season 2 at HBO

Mahersala Ali has been cast in a big role for the second season of *Task*, according to Variety. He will be working with Mark Ruffalo, who is coming back as a main character. The show is currently getting ready to start making the new season. *Task* first came out on HBO in September 2025 and was quickly picked for another season.

The new season's official description says, "Tom Brandis (Ruffalo) leads a new task force, but as the mission goes deeper, it becomes harder to know who the real target is."

 Mahersala will play Eddie Barnes, a respected DEA agent in Philadelphia whose team clashes with Tom's group.

Mahersala is the first new cast member added to the second season besides Ruffalo.

 The first season had a lot of famous actors, including Tom Pelphrey, Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Thuso Mbedu, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, Raúl Castillo, Silvia Dionicio, Phoebe Fox, and Martha Plimpton.

Mahersala has worked with HBO before.

 He starred in the third season of *True Detective* and was nominated for an Emmy for that. He was also nominated for his part in *House of Cards* on Netflix and in *Ramy* on Hulu. In films, he has won two Oscars — one for *Moonlight* and another for *Green Book*. He has also been in *Into the Spider-Verse*, *Swan Song*, *The Place Beyond the Pines*, and *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*.

He is represented by Cognition, CAA, Relevant, and Sloane Offer.

*Task* got a lot of praise from both critics and viewers.

 The first season has a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes and is seen as a strong candidate for this year's Emmy Awards.

Brad Inglesby created the show and is also the writer, executive producer, and showrunner.

 Mark Ruffalo is also an executive producer along with starring. Paul Lee and Mark Roybal are executive producers for wiip, along with Jeremiah Zagar and Ron Schmidt. Nicole Jordan-Webber and Karen Wacker are co-executive producers.