Julianne Nicholson to Reprise Mare of Easttown Role in Task Season 2

It’s official! Mare of Easttown and Task share a universe.

Variety exclusively reported that Julianne Nicholson will reprise her Emmy Award-winning role as Lori Ross on Task Season 2. She’s a mother of three and the best friend of Kate Winslet’s Mare Sheehan.

Before this news, any connections between the shows weren’t in-story. For instance, Brad Ingelsby created both Mare of Easttown and Task, which take place in the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia.

It’s unclear how Nicholson’s Lori will appear on Task because there are few details out about the second season. It is currently in pre-production, with Mark Ruffalo set to return as Tom Brandis.

The season’s logline reveals that Tom “takes the helm of a new task force, but the deeper the operation runs, the harder it is to tell who’s the target.”

Per Deadline, Nicholson joins the previously announced cast of Ruffalo, Mahershala Ali as Eddie Barnes, Harry Melling as Brennan Boylan, Adam Nagaitis as Luke Clemmons, Aminah Nieves as Nataly Zamora, and Edgar Ramírez as Miguel Contreras.

Task made its series debut in September 2025, and its seven-episode season ended in October. By November, HBO renewed the show for a second season. 

“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have HBO’s unwavering support of Task from the very first script onwards, throughout production, and during their extraordinary launch of our first season to audiences,” creator, writer, showrunner, and executive producer Brad Ingelsby said at the time.

“They are an unmatched creative home. On behalf of the entire Task team, in front of and behind the camera, I am honored and excited to get back to work on a second season of our show,” Ingelsby concluded. 

Task Season 1 received six nominations for the 78th Emmy Awards.

Those include Mark Ruffalo for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series and Tom Pelphrey for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series. 

The first season also starred Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Thuso Mbedu, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, Raúl Castillo, Silvia Dionicio, Phoebe Fox, and Martha Plimpton.

Executive producers Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield directed the first season. The show’s executive producers also include Paul Lee and Mark Roybal for wiip; Mark Ruffalo; David Crockett; Ron Schmidt. The co-executive producers are Nicole Jordan-Webber and Jeremy Yaches for Public Record.

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Task Season 1 is streaming on HBO Max. 

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