10 Best TV Shows Like HBO’s Task

If you’re reading this, it’s very likely that you’ve ticked “Task” off your watchlist and made it through Brad Inglesby’s incredible limited series on HBO. The crime drama, which concluded its first season on Oct. 19, depicts two fathers fighting to do what’s best for their families while engaging in a cat-and-mouse chase. It is a fantastic watch that is sure to leave you hungry to dust off another case file and get sucked into another detective story. Well, you’re in luck, as we’ve managed to compile a brilliant collection of shows that hit the same kind of notes as the ones actors Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey achieve as the leads in this recent series.

From secret agents with bad body odor to strait-laced accountants that have to become anything but, we’ve put together some absolute essentials, along with some that might get more overlooked than they should. Either way, there’s guaranteed to be something worth watching for anyone keen to see a tough case get busted wide open. Clear your corkboard, get as much red string together as you can manage, and polish up that police badge you’ve kept in the bottom drawer for far too long. It’s time to get to work — or at least, get watching.

This is the show that helped get “Task” the audience it absolutely deserved, and brought Kate Winslet some well-earned awards attention (again). If you’re looking for a television fix that’s as close to the recent Ruffalo-starring detective story, then it might as well be the creator’s original award-winning thriller that’s set in the same universe. Before taking us to “Task,” Brad Inglesby introduced us to HBO’s “Mare of Easttown“ in 2021. It’s another story centered around a worn-down detective battling troubles at home and on the case, and is riddled with twists and turns.

Kate Winslet is Mare Sheehan, a former high school basketball star stuck in a small town where everyone knows each other’s business, including a case involving a missing girl that has plagued Sheehan for a year. This failure casts an even greater shadow when a new death leads to increased attention on Mare’s work methods, leaving both the town and the police to question whether she can handle the latest big mystery.

Boasting an incredible supporting cast comprised of Evan Peters, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, and an oddly underused Guy Pearce, “Mare of Easttown” carries the same exceptional level of writing as “Task.” More importantly, everyone plays fantastically flawed characters that bring the family drama when Mare isn’t investigating a crime scene. It’s these heart-wrenching issues that made “Mare of Easttown” such a great watch, and had fans itching for a Season 2. They got “Task” instead, which is a good consolation prize.

Did you enjoy the gloomy backwater setting of “Task”? If so, you’ll love spending time with the Byrde family in “Ozark,” Netflix’s four-season family crime drama starring Jason Bateman in his passion project, which was an Emmy-winning hit at the time. “Ozark” features Bateman as Marty Byrde, a financial advisor whose broken marriage and troubled family are thrown into chaos when he gets into trouble with drug cartels over a large debt. This misfortune prompts the Byrdes to pack up and move to the titular spot, where they must find a new way to make their dirty money seem clean, even if it means teaming up with local players and damaging them in the process.

Running through a similar wash cycle as “Breaking Bad” and “The Sopranos,” “Ozark” provided an exceptional turn from Bateman, who flourished both in front of and behind the camera (he directed several episodes). The supporting talent was also on another level, with Laura Linney working wonders as Wendy, Marty’s cheating wife, who is forced to take part in his new business venture and becomes shockingly good at it over time. What we should especially thank “Ozark” for is making a name for actress Julia Garner, who won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for her performance as Ruth Langmore, the daughter of an Ozark crime family who became the scene-stealing highlight of the entire series.

If you think that the pinnacle of British spy antics involves a guy in a tuxedo with a wristwatch that fires lasers, you really need to swing by “Slow Horses” on Apple TV. Veteran actor Gary Oldman stars as spymaster Jackson Lamb, whose skill in the field is only outmatched by his body odor. Jaded and keen to keep his head out of trouble, Lamb manages a team of screw-up spies that have been cast out of MI5 for botched service, leaving them to do the grunt work that no one else will. Yet within five seasons, these so-called Slow Horses (named as such, because like a slow horse, they may as well be put out to pasture), have found themselves traversing the streets of London, thwarting terrorist attacks, and uncovering in-house secrets that The Park (MI5 HQ) would prefer keeping there.

Besides Oldman giving a consistently top-tier performance as the bitter, brutal, and forever-farting hero that is Jackson Lamb, his team of rejects and other supporting stars have earned the rank of fan favorites in their own right. Jack Lowden nails it as River Cartwright, the spy with something to prove and a family history bound to The Park. Other standout turns include Kristin Scott Thomas as MI5 boss Diana Taverner and an early appearance from Olivia Cooke as M15 agent, Sid Baker. “Slow Horses” towers above other thrillers by firing-off a brilliantly dry British sense of humor. Come for the wisecracks, stay for the backstabbing.

The debate might rage on over which is the best season, but somehow, if you’re still unable to contribute to the discussion, then you should watch “True Detective” on HBO and see what all the fuss is about. The anthology series began in 2014, with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as Martin Hart and Rust Cohle, Louisiana State Police detectives fighting on the side of the light. It is a masterful piece of storytelling from creator Nic Pizzolatto, traversing the circular timeline of two lawmen with a myriad of their own personal issues, forced to work together to track down a serial killer. Meme’d to the high heavens in the decade-plus since its debut, “True Detective” is still a masterpiece and arguably the best of the batch that followed.

After Hart and Cohle’s investigation came to an end, the show traveled all across America, following different detectives as they pursued new criminals to catch. Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn, and Mahershala Ali have all wandered into this world of dark deeds and beat-down cops. The most recent was Jodie Foster’s “True Detective: Night Country“ from 2024, which, while earning a fair bit of criticism (including from Pizzolatto himself), is still worth a look. Ultimately, though, for every “True Detective” case you’re not keen on crackin’, you’re guaranteed to enjoy Season 1. Get to work, detective.

One of the oldest shows on this list and widely considered one of the greatest of all time, “The Wire” remains at the pinnacle of cop shows. Debuting on HBO in 2002, the drama, set in Baltimore, Maryland, and penned by former journalist David Simon, follows a small investigative team tasked with wiretapping a long-standing drug operation, while also illustrating the far-reaching impact this criminal industry has on the city.

Praised for showing the various levels the War on Drugs had on the area, “The Wire” left no stone, interrogation room, or drug-filled corner unturned. From the kingpins and corner boys pushing the product to those whose lives are ruined by it, the reach got bigger with every season. As the show progressed, attention shifted to immigration, the education system, and the media, all of which established favorite and flawed characters who were on both sides of the law. In doing so, it validated a statement made by one of the show’s most beloved characters, Lester Freamon (portrayed by Clarke Peters), that “all the pieces matter,” and there wasn’t one part not worth obsessing over.

Besides being some of the best writing ever committed to the small screen, “The Wire” also introduced the world to talents like Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, Wendell Pierce, Dominic West, and the late Michael Kenneth Williams and Lance Reddick. “The Wire” is responsible for changing television forever, and without it, “Task” or this list likely would not exist.

Before Olivia Colman walked home one night with an Oscar and a while after David Tennant gave up his tenure on “Doctor Who”, both actors found themselves wandering through the bleak but brilliantly written British crime series “Broadchurch.” Created by Chris Chibnall and released on the ITV network in 2013, the show follows Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (Tennant) and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Colman) as they work to uncover the truth behind the death of 11-year-old Danny Latimer. Breaking the traditional routine of cookie-cutter crime stories, “Broadchurch” explores not just the crime and the perpetrator, but also the fallout within the town following the tragedy.

While Hardy and Miller try to solve the case, the show spends a lengthy amount of time sitting with the grief-stricken Latimer family, who are forced to endure the tragic loss. In the meantime, both Miller’s and Hardy’s lives beyond the crime scene are impacted by this horrific ordeal that they are desperate to resolve.

“Broadchurch” spanned three seasons, and like “True Detective,” the first season is arguably the peak of this award-winning drama. However, it’s a commendable effort from the show that continues to follow the Latimers long after Danny’s death, and even delves into a new case in the show’s final season. If you’ve ever wondered how and when Olivia Colman became the sure-win talent for anything she puts her name to, “Broadchurch” is the only evidence you need.

It’s another anthology entry, and one with a very grizzled and grumpy detective at its core. USA Network’s “The Sinner” follows Bill Pullman as Detective Harry Ambrose, whose case involves an outwardly happy housewife turned merciless killer who brutally murders a man on a public beach. Cora Tannetti, played by Jessica Biel, is the indisputable culprit who was caught incredibly red-handed, forcing Ambrose to lean in and learn about how this came to be and what it was that pushed this seemingly tame soul to butcher a perfect stranger.

As other anthology series have proven, the first season, which premiered in 2017, really is the best, but there are satiating little morsels to pull from the other three cases that make up the show’s four-season run. Like a far more serious Benoit Blanc from the “Knives Out” films, Ambrose gets up to his elbows in a few rather wild cases that venture into some frankly bonkers territory, even after he puts the badge away in Season 4. Even so, it’s great to see Pullman step in front of the camera for a role that’s perfectly molded around him. Throw in appearances from Matt Bomer, Carrie Coon, and Christopher Abbott, and “The Sinner” goes into some pretty dark territory; it’s just a question of whether you’re willing to head there yourself.

Years after “The Wire” helped Idris Elba’s career get to the level it is now, he found himself on the other side of the pond, tackling police drama from a different side of the law in the title role of DCI John Luther. The BBC detective series “Luther” debuted in 2010, and featured Elba as a somewhat clichéd but addictively driven detective, akin to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock — albeit far rougher around the edges. Luther is a man with a short fuse but an incredibly sharp and obsessive mind. The character’s signature tweed jacket and red necktie became synonymous with the troubled hero, who’s became famous for ripping doors to pieces and being as unhinged as the killers he chased down.

With five seasons under his belt, followed by a feature-length film on Netflix, “Luther: Fallen Sun,” some fans might argue that plot lines have gotten a little out of hand and borderline Bond-like in scale. Thankfully, though, there’s enough in the early stages of Detective Luther’s time on television to hook you in, particularly in the first season, and the introduction of Luther’s murderous frenemy, Alice Morgan, played by Ruth Wilson. Either way, by the end of your time with “John Loofah” (you’ve got to say it properly), you’ll be keeping your fingers crossed that Elba’s hunched-over, tweed-clad antihero returns to the screen sometime soon.

Proving that the only place darker than a murder scene is the mind that created it, David Fincher’s spine-tingling Netflix series, “Mindhunter,” is unlike anything else in this collection, simply because of how long it spends breathing life into some of the world’s most prolific serial killers. Set in the 1970s and based on real events, FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), along with psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), attempt to deconstruct the psychology behind the disturbed criminal mind long before the term “serial killer” was well-known. Their quest brings them face-to-face with imprisoned monsters, such as Ed Kemper (masterfully portrayed by Cameron Britton), Jerry Brudos (Happy Anderson), and Richard Speck (Jack Erdie), leading to conversations that can chill the bones without spilling a drop of blood.

With only two seasons under its belt, the show was canceled in 2019. “Task” and other shows on this list might have some tense moments, but few of them can match Ford’s and Trench’s numerous conversations with Kemper, which are as stomach-churning as they are gripping. What adds to the weight is that these were real men deep-diving into the mind’s truly monstrous tendencies. Out of the canceled shows we’ve profiled here, “Mindhunter” is the one that we’d kill to see return.

Martin Hart and Rust Cohle’s “True Detective” case might’ve come with a sprinkling of supernatural elements, but HBO’s 2020 miniseries “The Outsider” is a crime thriller that does an exceptional job of drip-feeding you the belief that absolutely nothing is as it seems. Adapted from Stephen King’s story of the same name, “The Outsider” sees family man and baseball coach Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman) arrested for the brutal murder of a young boy. Pleading for his innocence despite being spotted leaving the crime scene, it takes the teamwork of local lawman Detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) and private investigator Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo) to reveal that there’s more to this heinous act than meets the eye. The case leads Anderson to question everything he knows and head into some truly monstrous territory.

With the incredible supporting talent of Bill Camp, Paddy Considine, and “Severance” actor Yul Vasquez, “The Outsider” is a bit of a curveball compared to what transpires on “Task.” It’s also a treat to see members of the eclectic cast, particularly Erivo, in acting roles that predate their massive stardom. Though it opens in a similar tone to “Task” and “Mare of Easttown,” another deviation of “The Outsider” is how it takes its time venturing into the unexpected — territory that those well-versed in King might anticipate. For those who are going in blind, the less said about what’s waiting at the end of this disturbing detective story, the better. One bit of advice: Don’t trust anyone.