Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe continues to expand with Marshals, the CBS procedural led by Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton. The series follows a group of U.S. Marshals in Montana as they pursue criminals including biker gangs and serial bombers. However, HBO’s Task offers a more intense version of a storyline that Marshals covers in a single episode.
Created by Brad Ingelsby, Task follows a specialized law-enforcement team whose members balance difficult personal histories, internal friction and investigations into dangerous criminals. Mark Ruffalo leads the series as Tom Brandis, working alongside Anthony, Aleah and Lizzie while confronting both violent offenders and unreliable allies.
The comparison is especially clear in the treatment of biker gangs. In Marshals’ first season, episode six, “Out of the Shadows,” Kayce’s team searches for missing girls and encounters the Iron Sentinels. Belle goes undercover to investigate the kidnappings before the case leads to a brief firefight.
Task develops a similar premise over its entire seven-episode season. Tom and Robbie Prendergast become entangled with the Dark Hearts, a violent motorcycle gang, while the story builds tension through divided loyalties, betrayal and escalating threats. Rather than resolving the conflict within one procedural episode, Task allows its consequences to develop across the season.
The two shows also center on similarly sized teams. Kayce works with Cal, Belle, Andrea and Miles, while Tom’s squad includes Anthony, Aleah and Lizzie. Both series use clashes between team members and their different law-enforcement backgrounds to create drama, but Task gives those relationships greater weight as its story progresses.
Task also maintains higher stakes. Marshals generally resets its conflicts at the end of each episode, with suspects arrested or killed after a short confrontation. Task instead builds toward longer action sequences and places major consequences throughout the season, including an early climactic shootout in its sixth episode.
The HBO drama further distinguishes itself through its antagonists. Robbie is presented as a sympathetic figure, while Perry Dorazo represents a more overtly threatening presence. Their continued importance, along with later twists, keeps the conflict active beyond the immediate investigation.
According to the source, Task’s writing makes every decision potentially dangerous. Characters can die unexpectedly, and the series does not limit serious consequences to supporting roles. By contrast, the more accessible format of Marshals can make its characters appear nearly invulnerable, reducing the impact of some individual episodes.
With Marshals airing weekly on CBS and Paramount+, Task’s seven-episode first season provides a compact viewing option between installments. Its complete first-season storyline can be watched quickly, while its cliffhangers and accelerating plot favor a short binge.
A second season of Task is currently filming. Meanwhile, Marshals continues to explore standalone cases within the Yellowstone universe, including stories involving serial bombers, military testing, escaped prisoners and biker gangs.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.