HBO‘s critically acclaimed crime drama Task isn’t pulling any punches with the casting of Mark Ruffalo‘s counterpart in the second season as sources tell Deadline Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali is set to join the show. Ali will play Eddie Barnes, a seasoned and well-respected DEA agent in Philadelphia whose team comes into conflict with Tom’s unit. 

Season two follows Ruffalo’s return as Agent 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. Ingelsby is back as exec producer, writer and showrunner. Joining him as exec producers are Paul Lee and Mark Roybal for wiip as well as Jeremiah Zagar, Ruffalo, and Ron Schmidt. Nicole Jordan-Webber and Karen Wacker will join as co-exec producers.

Though HBO will continue to say show was never a limited series and a second season was on the table, sources close tot he project say the initial plan was for one season similar to Inglesby’s other HBO crime drama Mare of Eastown. Once production had concluded on that first season, Ingelsby and Ruffalo felt there was still more to explore with his character and began plotting a second season arc. Once the first season concluded to big numbers and incredible reviews, Ingelsby was well on his way to writing the next season and a second season renewal quickly followed with Ruffalo returning to star.

The one thing that was missing SPOILER ALERT: is that HBO and Ingelsby knew they would have to replace Ruffalo’s co-star Tom Pelphrey’s character, who is killed at the end of season 1. Pelphrey’s performance was as good as any on television in ’25 and execs and producers knew they would have to aim high for season two and decided to go to a familiar face that had helped relaunched another popular crime drama years ago.

Mahershala Ali, who starred in the third season of HBO’s True Detective, was at the top of the list and after reading that first script and meeting with Ingelsby was on board to join Ruffalo in the upcoming season. The one difference this go around is a rival DEA agent on the same side of the law instead of Pelphrey’s criminal fighting for survival..

Ali is set to have a busy year ahead of him on the film side with the highly anticipated Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother bowing later this year. Written and directed by Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli, the dramatic thriller will be released this fall by MGM Studios and Amazon.

Ali recently starred in Universals highest grossing film of 2025, Jurassic World: Rebirth alongside Scarlett Johanson. In 2003, Ali starred alongside Julia Roberts in Netflix’ critically acclaimed and highly successful film Leave the World Behind which premiered to over 121 million views in its first month on the platform.

He is repped by Cognition, CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.