'Best crime thriller of the year' dubbed 'new masterpiece' soars to 90% rating in 2 days

A brand new show that's being called "tremendous", "the best crime thriller of the year" and "a new masterpiece" has just dropped and is available to stream now.

Task is the new crime drama from the writer of Mare of Easttown, the widely acclaimed detective drama starring Kate Winslet, which itself has a hugely impressive 95% rating on the review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes.

Task stars Mark Ruffalo and has only been available in the UK since Monday. It is a HBO show that's streaming in the UK on Now TV. Ruffalo plays a former priest turned FBI agent in Philadelphia tasked with investigating a series of armed break-ins at drug houses.

And it's been a hit with critics so far, which has seen it soar to 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Greg McArthur of ScreenRant says: "Task is stunning. [Brad] Ingelsby writes with natural immersion and masterful authenticity that transcends both genre and medium. It's HBO's new masterpiece."

Robert Lloyd in the Los Angeles Times says: "For all my reservations when it comes to this sort of drama, it's very well made and very well acted."

And Kelly Lawler in USA Today says: "While some relentelessly grim series can be too depressing to enjoy, Task keeps its story fast-paced, and its characters complicated and redeeming enough to avoid that pitfall."

John Anderson in the Wall Street Journal says Task is "perhaps the best crime thriller of the year" and "a validation of the seven-, eight-, or nine-part TV series".

Task was created by Brad Inglesby, who also created Mare of Easttown, a seven-episode series released in 2021, which focuses on Winslet's police detective Mare Sheehan, who is investigating the murder of a young woman in the fictional Philadelphia suburb of Easttown. It's been widely praised as an "exceptional" drama with the "best storyline, best cinematography and best acting".

But not all reviewers are full of praise. Lucy Mangan in The Guardian says: "Mare of Easttown was no picnic. But it had plenty of black humour and was full of vividly drawn, wholly believable family relationships and friendships that gave it a sense of life in the round. The criminality mattered because it affected people in all walks of life. Task, by contrast, is relentlessly bleak, humourless and narratively airless."

But viewers who have already seen the brand new show are fans. Kenneth Tidwell said: "It's only one episode but I think I'm really gonna like it. Can't wait for the next episode!"

And Tammy Gibble said: "It sucks you in because I think it's done really well. I already care about each of them and it's only one episode in."

Task is streaming now on Now TV.