Mark Ruffalo is up to the Task in HBO’s gripping new crime drama

Task
Monday, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
A compelling start for this new crime drama from the creator of Mare of Easttown, set in the Philadelphia suburbs. Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) is a binman by day, coping with the death of his brother while looking after his kids and niece, and maybe even looking for love. By night, though, he and his mate Cliff (Raúl Castillo) dress up in Halloween costumes and burgle members of a drug-dealing biker gang. Enter Mark Ruffalo’s Tom (pictured top), an FBI agent dealing with his own family bereavement, and put on the case with an inexperienced taskforce before a turf war escalates. It’s deeply layered, fantastically written and proof that the autumn nights are here. Hollie Richardson

Only Murders in the Building
Disney+, from Tuesday
Poor Lester. As the fifth season of this crime comedy starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez begins, the gang are reckoning with his death – which, they are startled to learn, has been recorded as accidental. Clearly they’re going to have to investigate … and before long, they’re bumping heads with one of New York’s mafia families. As ever, it’s densely written, overflowing with celebrity cameos (this time Renée Zellweger, Téa Leoni and Christoph Waltz appear) and slightly too pleased with its own cleverness to quite hit its emotional or thriller beats. Phil Harrison

The Girlfriend
Prime Video, from Wednesday
Tense, jumpy music. An oddly intense mother-son relationship. Plenty of conversational cut and thrust. This melodramatic psychological thriller parades its genre signifiers like a badge of honour. It centres on the relationship between Cherry (Olivia Cooke) and Danny (Laurie Davidson). She’s an ambitious, cunning, thwarted estate agent who is looking for a shortcut up London’s social ladder; he’s a slightly gormless, grinning rich boy. When Danny brings Cherry home to meet his parents, his uptight, manipulative mother, Laura (Robin Wright) smells a rat. Thus begins a battle of wills between two women whose mutual suspicion quickly turns into deep antipathy. PH

AKA Charlie Sheen
Netflix, from Wednesday
To say that Charlie Sheen has had a tumultuous life is an understatement. He has experienced the most dizzying highs and the deepest lows – and he promises that none of these extremes are out of bounds in this two-part confessional. Sheen is now seven years sober and able to look back with clarity (and some wry humour) on his lively personal life and galloping substance abuse problems. And should we be in any doubt, even his erstwhile crack dealer is interviewed. Other witnesses to the chaos of this charismatic loose cannon include Sean Penn, Heidi Fleiss, Ramon Estevez and Sheen’s ex-wife Denise Richards. PH

The Newsreader
Thursday, 9pm, BBC Two
The sharp Australian newsroom drama with terrific attention to detail returns. It’s now 1989, and after reporting on the Lockerbie bombing, Helen (Anna Torv) reconnects with Dale (Sam Reid) over an awkward meal. Their updates: Helen has a new current affairs show and Dale is up for a Gold Logie award. And Kylie and Jason are at the ceremony! But their presence won’t stop a night of bickering and a revelation that shakes Helen’s big plans. HR

For local listings and availability, visit justwatch.com.