TL;DR: Task is the must-watch crime drama of the year on OSN+, blending grief, hope, and moral ambiguity into one of the strongest character dramas in recent memory.
Task
Crime dramas have become the Netflix stand-up specials of our era: there’s always a new one dropping, half of them look the same, and most fade from memory before the end credits roll. But every so often, one comes along that slices through the noise, stares you dead in the eye, and says: this is how it’s done.
That show, right now, is Task.
Written and created by Brad Ingelsby—the mind behind Mare of Easttown—Task is the kind of slow-burn character-driven drama that burrows into your bones. For audiences in the Middle East and North Africa, it’s streaming exclusively on OSN+, and honestly? It’s reason enough to renew your subscription.
Mark Ruffalo takes the lead as Tom, an FBI field agent stationed in Philadelphia, whose life has been hollowed out by a personal tragedy so devastating you can practically see it written into his posture. Desperate to outrun his grief, Tom throws himself into a missing-child case with three inexperienced but determined local officers. Meanwhile, on the other side of the story, Tom Pelphrey plays Robbie, a man straddling the blurry line between good intentions and bad choices, trying to survive while the ground keeps crumbling beneath him.
The brilliance of Task lies not in its setup but in its humanity. Ingelsby isn’t recycling clichés of brooding detectives or charismatic gangsters; he’s drawing painfully real portraits of people stumbling through loss, addiction, compromise, and fleeting moments of grace.
Ruffalo’s Finest Work in Years
Ruffalo has always had this uncanny ability to feel like both the everyman and the quiet storm in the room. In Task, he strips away the larger-than-life quirks of recent roles and delivers his most grounded performance since Spotlight. His Tom doesn’t rage or grandstand—he aches. You can feel the exhaustion in his silences, the way he carries grief like a second spine.
Pelphrey is equally magnetic, tapping into the same raw instability that made his turn in Ozark unforgettable. Then there’s Jamie McShane as Perry, a chillingly charismatic figure who feels like trouble incarnate. Add in Emilia Jones (CODA), Alison Oliver (Saltburn), Fabian Frankel (Game of Thrones), Thuso Mbedu (The Woman King), Owen Teague (Bloodline), and rising star Sam Keeley, and you’ve got one of the strongest ensembles in recent memory. Even the child actors deliver performances that sting with authenticity.
Shades of the Greats, But Entirely Its Own
Watching Task, you’ll catch echoes of shows that defined the prestige-drama era: the creeping dread of True Detective, the fractured morality of Ozark, the desperate tenderness of The Last of Us. But this isn’t imitation—it’s evolution. Task takes those touchstones and builds something new, something more intimate.
Where most crime series lean on twists, Task leans on truth. The kind of uncomfortable truth that says not every mystery gets solved, not every wound heals, and sometimes good people suffer just as much as the bad. It’s not bleak for bleakness’ sake—it’s honest. And that honesty makes every victory, however small, feel monumental.
Storytelling That Cuts to the Bone
Ingelsby has a gift for writing characters who lie to themselves just to get through the day, and Task is full of them. They drink too much, they lash out, they chase redemption they may never catch. But they’re never caricatures. They’re painfully, recognizably human.
And in Task, humanity is the point. There are no easy answers. The missing don’t always get found. The guilty don’t always pay. Sometimes, the biggest battles are fought quietly, off the record, in living rooms and hospital waiting areas. That refusal to bow to tropes is what makes the show hit so hard.
Why It Works So Well
Part of the power of Task lies in its pacing and presentation. The cinematography captures both the grit of Philadelphia and the intimate textures of its characters’ private spaces. The score, composed by Dan Deacon, thrums with urgency one moment and aches with melancholy the next. Seven tightly constructed episodes mean there’s no filler, no wasted time—just pure, relentless storytelling.
For viewers in the MENA region, having Task on OSN+ is a gift. This is the kind of series that will have people debating, dissecting, and bingeing it across the region, setting a new standard for what streaming drama can deliver here.
Verdict:
Task is a raw, haunting, and achingly human drama anchored by Mark Ruffalo’s career-best work. With its stellar ensemble cast and razor-sharp writing, it’s a series that will linger in your mind long after you’ve finished it. Streaming now on OSN+ across the Middle East and North Africa, it’s unmissable television for anyone who cares about stories that matter.
