Task takes place in the unpretentious world of Delco, aka Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the suburbs outside Philadelphia with a mix of blue and white collars and plenty of locals who pronounce the word water with a d.
The show’s production designer, Keith P. Cunningham, had to capture the region’s character without ever letting things look fussy.
“We were just absorbing the environments and people. The smells, and the food, and obviously the accents and all that stuff,” Cunningham says. “We ended up cherrypicking some of our favorite things that speak to the scripts.”
The show comes from Brad Ingelsby, who grew up near Delco and previously created Mare of Easttown, the 2021 Emmy-winning mini-series that also takes place outside Philly. Mark Ruffalo plays Tom Brandis, a priest-turned-FBI agent who leads a task force responsible for investigating a series of robberies. Tom Pelphrey plays Robbie Prendergrast, a garbage collector who leads a crew that robs trap houses. Things get very messy.
Set in one of the oldest parts of the United States, the show features homes and pieces of furniture that in some cases have been passed down for generations.
“One of our big approaches thematically for the show is finding places that feel a little stuck in time,” Cunningham says. “So it’s not exactly period, but it does feel just like the environment we went to.”
Task, which has been renewed for a second season,used more than 100 locations for its first. A lot of the work takes place inside homes, and Cunningham keeps a list of potential spaces to use, depending on what the scripts call for.
“We do like to collect things as we go,” Cunningham says. “Call it a puzzle piece.”
The main characters’ spaces were recreated on sets, which was a challenge for the cameras but helped to achieve the overall tone. Both live in surroundings that reflect their personalities: Pelphrey’s character is physical and energetic, so Cunningham made sure his drawers were open and things were everywhere. Ruffalo’s character is more buttoned up, so everything in his muted gray space was put away.
Through it all, the production designer made sure to never take attention away from the characters.
“Nothing ever feels too purposeful,” Cunningham says. “We don’t want anything to feel motivated by anything untrue.”
He says creating within those design parameters extends across departments. Everyone relies on early presentations in which they compare references and align on tone, and then they communicate to adjust as they go.
“Everyone’s got a little room within the overall guidelines to kind of be able to maneuver,” he says. “By the end of it, it feels like we’ve created this thing within each of our departments that works with the others.”
Task is now streaming on HBO Max. You can read more of our Emmy contender interviews here.
Main image: Task production designer Keith P. Cunningham (pictured) wanted the show’s locations to feel “a little stuck in time.” HBO.