Tom Pelphrey has won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Task at the 78th Emmy Awards. The Television Academy confirmed the result during the September 14 ceremony, giving Pelphrey the first Primetime Emmy of his career for playing Robbie Prendergrast in the HBO crime drama.

Pelphrey won over Patrick Ball, Shawn Hatosy and Gerran Howell for The Pitt, Billy Crudup for The Morning Show, Jack Lowden for Slow Horses and Carlos-Manuel Vesga for Pluribus. It was a seven-person field that included three performers from The Pitt, but the award went to Task.

The Task win is Tom Pelphrey’s first Primetime Emmy

The Television Academy’s official performer record now lists two Primetime nominations and one Primetime Emmy for Pelphrey. His previous Primetime nomination came in 2022, when he competed for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series as Ben Davis in Ozark. He did not win that race, making Task the role that converted his second Primetime nomination into his first Primetime victory.

This is not Pelphrey’s first Emmy across every branch of the awards. He won Daytime Emmys for playing Jonathan Randall on Guiding Light in 2006 and 2008. The Television Academy says its database covers prime-time programming and excludes Daytime awards administered by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which is why its profile shows one Emmy rather than three overall.

The category name also matters. Although Task centers on the pursuit between Robbie and FBI agent Tom Brandis, played by Mark Ruffalo, the Academy placed Pelphrey in supporting actor and Ruffalo in lead actor. Pelphrey’s win applies only to the supporting performance category; it does not mean Task won the separate drama-series race.

Who Tom Pelphrey plays in Task

Robbie Prendergrast is the family man at the center of the robberies that drive Task. HBO’s official description sets the series in working-class communities outside Philadelphia, where Ruffalo’s FBI agent leads a task force trying to stop a string of violent crimes connected to Robbie.

That premise gives Pelphrey a character positioned on both sides of the drama: Robbie is a target of the investigation, but the series also follows the pressures surrounding his family and choices. The Emmy recognizes Pelphrey’s performance across that first-season arc, not a newly announced episode or continuation.

Task entered the Emmys with six nominations

Task received six nominations for the 2026 ceremony. Alongside Pelphrey’s supporting-actor race, Mark Ruffalo was nominated for lead actor, Salli Richardson-Whitfield for directing, Brad Ingelsby for writing, Alex Disenhof for cinematography, and Keiko Deguchi and Amy E. Duddleston for picture editing.

Pelphrey’s victory is therefore the show’s first confirmed acting result of the night. Ruffalo did not win lead actor; that award went to Noah Wyle for The Pitt. The remaining categories must be counted separately as their official results are posted.

Task Season 1 is complete and Season 2 is confirmed

The seven-episode first season premiered September 7, 2025, on HBO and HBO Max and completed its weekly run later that fall. Viewers can watch the full Emmy-winning season now rather than wait for additional first-season episodes.

HBO renewed Task for a second season in November 2025. The renewal announcement did not set a premiere date, and Pelphrey’s Emmy win does not itself confirm which characters or storylines will return. Those details remain separate from the award result until HBO announces them.

More from the 2026 Emmys

Follow the ceremony schedule and biggest races in our complete 2026 Emmys guide.

Noah Wyle also won his second straight lead actor Emmy for The Pitt.

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