Berwyn's Brad Ingelsby Talks Penning New HBO Series 'Task'

BERYWN, PA — On Sunday night, HBO's newest series will premier, and it will put the Philadelphia suburbs back in the national spotlight.

"Task," starring Mark Ruffalo and set in and around Delaware County, debuts Sunday on HBO. The series focuses on Ruffalo's character, FBI agent Tom Brandis, and the special task force he leads as they investigate a series of robberies at drug houses in Delaware County.

For those unaware, "Task" is the next series from writer and producer Brad Ingelsby, who created and wrote the award-winning hit series "Mare of Easttown" for HBO.

Ingelsby, who lives in his hometown of Berwyn, has Delaware County in his blood, he told Patch in a phone interview.

"My dad is from Springfield and my mom is from Drexel Hill," he said. "My wife grew up in Aston, and there are Ingelsby all over the area."

The Archbishop John Carroll High School and Villanova University alum's connection to the area gives him a bit of an authority on writing stories that take place in Delco, Chesco, Montco, Philly, and along the Main Line.

"I really like where I live, I like the people," he said. "There's a quiet heroism in them."

The working class residents in the region don't often have stories told about them, he said.

However, with the success of "Mare," the area's denizens have gotten more attention in entertainment.

Adam Sandler set his Netflix dramedy "Hustle" in Philadelphia, Peacock tapped Amanda Seyfried to play a Philadelphia Police officer in the series "The Long Bright River," Hulu's Comedy series "Deli Boys" centers around Pakistani-American deli owners, and of course there's ABC's mega hit workplace mockumentary "Abbott Elementary" starring Philadelphia's own Quinta Brunson.

Still, Ingelsby said people such as Declonians often they don't get the care and attention they deserve when portrayed on screen.

For example, Tom Pelphrey — who grew up about an hour and a half from Delaware County in Howell Township, New Jersey — co-stars as "Robbie." Robbie waxes poetic about a brighter future for his family and tells his compatriots about centering himself when faced with adversity. He had plans to attend a daddy-daughter dance with his daughter Harper, played by Kennedy Moyer.

Robbie is also a sanitation worker who is involved in some very serious criminal activity throughout the series. He plans to use the proceeds to usher in his family's new, better life.

"He's a trash guy who does this [criminal activity]," Ingelsby said. "But he loves his kids. He's eloquent. He yearns for a better life."

Ingelsby said he sees himself a character writer, and that he wants to explore the many facets of all people.

"It's not just rich people who are complicated," he said. "People think [working class people] are one thing, but they're many things who aspire to have different experiences, who have deep conversations, who reflect on life, and who have regrets."

Another character who embodies the complexity of human nature is Emily Brandis. Emily, played by Silvia Dionicio, is the adoptive daughter of Ruffalo's character. Emily and her brother Ethan (Andrew Russel) are black in a white family. When grappling with family tragedy, Emily wonders if the only emotion she's allowed to feel is appreciation for being given a second chance through adoption.

"Emily is trying to keep the family together," Ingelsby said. "She's tired of being asked to feel one thing all the time."

Ingelsby, whose career launched in writing feature films, said writing for television allows for deeper characters.

For example, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Elizabeth Stover (Alison Oliver) comes off as a bit scattered to her fellow task force members. She's going through an acrimonious divorce and is the butt of the joke from her fellow state troopers. But thanks to the seven-episode length of "Task," Ingelsby said she is fleshed out more to show she is an incredibly effective member of the team.

"Lizzie wouldn't be able to get as much time as we wanted in a movie," he said.

But so much of "Task," like "Mare," is about the setting.

Viewers who live in the region may find themselves point at the screen saying, "oh my gosh there's Our Lady of Peace School in Ridley," "that had to be in Darby Creek," or "hey, I was just at that Rita's."

Shooting locations included Ridley, Aston, Chadds Ford, Edgmont, the Delaware County Courthouse in Media, and Wissahickon Valley Park in Philadelphia. They even got to shoot in a working Rita's location, something what wasn't possible at Wawa stores due to the busy nature of the beloved convenience chain.

"We shot on some same streets in Coatesville as we did in 'Mare,'" Ingelsby said. "We wanted a sense of familiarity, but with a totally different story."

The production team also sought to ensure continuity in the look, which entailed bringing back the same costumers and production design team from "Mare."

Viewers will see Wawa cups, Yuengling bottles, familiar exits, the former Philadelphia Police headquarters, and many more Philadelphia-area signifiers throughout "Task."

And that's paramount to achieving stellar performances from the cast, Ingelsby said.

"It's important to be where you're making something," he said. "When it's a show about a place, it just helps to be there."

Ingelsby said the feeling of shooting on location in and around Delco and the results from doing so are hard to quantify.

"Going to bars, restaurants, driving around, talking to people," he said. "It all makes an impact [on the actors]."

Notably, Ruffalo met with plenty of locals at the Delaware County courthouse in Media in June 2024.

Ingelsby also said giving local crew members jobs through production is incredibly important to him due to his strong connection to the area. And getting to sleep in his own bed each night is helpful, he said with laugh.

"It's one of those things I love most about being able to do this," he said of shooting locally.

And when it comes to the "hard to quantify" aspect of filming on location, the accolades of “Mare” can quantify the significance of local shoots. The series won three Emmy Awards for its performances: Outstanding Lead Actress for star Kate Winslet, Outstanding Supporting Actress for Julianne Nicholson, and Outstanding Supporting Actor for Evan Peters.

For Ingelsby, a main goal is to ensure the people from Delco feel like he appropriately represented their beauty and their flaws.

Episode one of "Task" airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.