Mahershala Ali is returning to television in the upcoming second season of HBO crime drama Task.
The network announced the casting on Monday, March 23 in a post on Instagram.
Ali is a two-time best supporting actor Oscar winner for Moonlight (2016) and Green Book (2018).
His other previous film roles include Leave the World Behind (2023) and Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025). He also starred on the third season of HBO drama series True Detective.
Mark Ruffalo leads the cast of Task as FBI agent Tom Brandis. Set in the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia, the first season found Brandis leading a task force assembled to solve a string of violent robberies against stash houses run by members of a dangerous motorcycle gang. The season ended with a confrontation that left a member of the task force dead.
In Season 2, “Tom Brandis takes the helm of a new task force, but the deeper the operation runs, the harder it is to tell who’s the target,” per the official description.
Ali is set to play “Eddie Barnes,” described as “a seasoned and well-respected DEA agent in Philadelphia whose team comes into conflict with Tom’s unit.”
The cast on the first season included Tom Pelphrey, Thuso Mbedu, Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, Raúl Castillo, Silvia Dionicio, Phoebe Fox, and Martha Plimpton.
The series debuted in September 2025 to positive reviews and critical acclaim.
Ruffalo received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a drama series. The thriller was also nominated for two Writers Guild of America awards.
Brad Ingelsby created the drama and serves as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Salli Richardson-Whitfield is a director and executive producer alongside Jeremiah Zagar.
Additional executive producers are Mark Roybal and Paul Lee, Mark Ruffalo, David Crockett, Ron Schmidt, Nicole Jordan-Webber, and Jeremy Yaches.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
