Brand Ingelsby has followed up his highly successful Mare of Easttown with HBO’s Task and a unique franchise idea that could keep this ball rolling. This latest HBO crime drama stars Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey, among other prominent stars like Fabien Frankel, Emilia Jones, Alison Oliver, Martha Plimpton, Jamie McShane, and more. It’s a series full of gritty thrills, but a surprising amount of heart as well.

It’s evident when watching both Task and Ingelsby’s Mare of Easttown that this screenwriter has a real knack for writing characters who have been through profound loss and trauma. From episode to episode, we see their anguish, before the finale finally launches these characters into a poetic freedom. It’s truly beautiful storytelling.

The only slight downside to Task and Mare of Easttown is that these are both limited series. Their stories have a complete rise and fall, and were created with no expectation of sophomore seasons. However, Ingelsby has taken a unique approach to the big picture. Though sequels may never happen, Task and Mare of Easttown are still part of a wider crime thriller franchise.

Brad Ingelsby’s Task & Mare Of Easttown Are Set Within The Same Universe

Though Ingelsby’s two hit crime thrillers are technically two separate series, he has revealed that they exist within the same fictional universe. While many hoped this meant we would see Kate Winslet’s Mare in Task, there has yet to be any character crossover. However, this sort of disconnected, anthology-like franchise angle has several other benefits.

Although Mare of Easttown and Task feature very different stories, they explore similar themes. Both shows are about loss, forgiveness, family, and the psychology of not only crime but also law enforcement. Mare’s story got this ball rolling, exploring the devastating impact of losing a child. Task‘s story took this same idea, but instead explored the experience of losing a spouse and parent.

The implication of Ingelsby’s Task and Mare of Easttown’s fictional universe is that we could get another series—​​​​​​or perhaps several—that continue Ingelsby’s intriguing character studies. It would undoubtedly be another crime thriller, but the next installment could introduce new perspectives on the overarching franchise’s powerful themes. It’s precisely the shake-up that the genre needs.

A Crime Thriller Miniseries Franchise Can Avoid A Common Genre Pitfall

Crime Thriller TV shows will typically have a particular angle and theme that carries over from one season to the next. Given the grittier tone of the genre, the angle often revolves around the protagonist’s traumatic past. The problem is, once that character confronts their “big problem,” the story begins to suffer. However, if it takes too long for this issue to be resolved, the TV show gets dull.

Naturally, plenty of series have gotten around this. If that particular angle is strong enough, like Tony Soprano’s family dynamic in The Sopranos, then the TV show will have some legs. Still, there are more failures than successes in the genre. Ingelsby’s franchise is an elegant solution. Each new series has a unique angle, but the theme remains consistent.

It would be interesting to see more screenwriters take Ingelsby’s Task and Mare of Easttown franchise approach. It’s almost like a movie franchise, since the failure of an individual limited series wouldn’t necessarily mean the death of future projects set in that fictional universe. If it has worked for Hollywood, then it could certainly work to revolutionize the TV crime thriller genre.