Exclusive: Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Jeremiah Zagar on sharing directing duties for HBO's Task
Currently airing on HBO is the crime drame miniseries Task, which stars Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, Emilia Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Raúl Castillo, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, Silvia Dionicio, and Martha Plimpton.
Created and written by Brad Ingelsby for HBO, a Philadelphia-based FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) is put in charge of a task force to end a string of violent robberies undertaken by an unassuming family man (Tom Pelphrey).
Creator/writer/showrunner/executive producer Brad Ingelsby. Director/executive producers Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Executive producers Mark Roybal and Paul Lee for wiip; Mark Ruffalo; David Crockett; Ron Schmidt. Co-executive producers Nicole Jordan-Webber and Jeremy Yaches for Public Record.
Richardson-Whitfield made Emmy history as the first Black woman nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. She also served as executive producer and director on The Gilded Age, which recently concluded its third season season. She earned an Emmy nomination in 2024 for Outstanding Drama Series for her role as EP on The Gilded Age. She also received two Gracie Awards for Winning Time and The Gilded Age that same year. Richardson-Whitfield transitioned from a successful acting career to directing, beginning with two episodes of Queen Sugar. Her directing portfolio includes stints on Hulu’s Reprisal, Apple’s See, Netflix’s Dear White People, The Punisher and Altered Carbon, and Starz’ American Gods, among others.
Zagar previously helmed We the Animals, his feature directorial debut, based on the novel by Justin Torres, which put him on the town’s radar. Starring Raúl Castillo, who’s part of the cast of the Task, the coming-of-age drama was critically acclaimed and won Zagar Sundance’s NEXT Innovator Award, also landing five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best First Feature. Zagar’s follow-up was the Adam Sandler basketball dramedy Hustle, another critically acclaimed effort which led Netflix’s Top 10 in its debut on the platform and brought Sandler a SAG Award nomination for his performance.
Blackfilmandtv.com's Wilson Morales talks to Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Jeremiah Zagar on sharing directing duties for HBO's Task