Brad Ingelsby Talks Echo Valley, Writing Complex Women, and Returning To Easttown For New Show Task
After the success of Mare of Easttown, creator Brad Ingelsby returns to his emotional thriller roots with Echo Valley. Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with Ingelsby about the new film, complicated mother-daughter dynamics, and his next show Task.
Echo Valley was inspired by Ingelsby’s passion for writing about complex women and familial bonds. “I love writing women, so it was a great chance to get back into writing these relationships that we explored a lot in Mare. It was moms and daughters and friends,” he told me. “It was a challenge to figure out what to do next, but I was kicking the tires with Kevin [J. Walsh] and Mike [Pruss], our producers, and we brought in Michael [Pearce] and obviously we [were] incredibly lucky with the cast. I'm really proud of what we've done with this one.”
Ingelsby called it a “dream” to work with Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney. “As a writer, it's a dream. It's just incredible to put those words with those actors. Julianne, I've loved her forever. She's just one of the best of all time in my opinion. She's just so great in everything and Sydney really delivers a great performance here. To have actors of that caliber, it's what you dream of as a writer,” Ingelsby exclaimed. “At that point, your work is done. You put [it] in the hands of people that know what they're doing and they're going to bring something to the character that I'm not able to. They're going to elevate it in ways I couldn't dream, so I just feel really incredibly lucky.”
So what makes a great thriller? “Audiences are so smart these days. Trying to understand what they expect to happen and then trying to subvert the expectations in a way that feels earned and doesn't betray the characters,” said Ingelsby. “It's really tough because audiences are so knowledgeable these days and you don't want to feel like you're trying to trick them, so you have to have a twist that feels really earned. It just takes a lot of time to think about it and hopefully you pull it off in a way where the audience doesn't feel like it's taking them out of the story. It still feels incredibly grounded in the world and the characters we're talking about.”
Next up for Ingesby is Task, a new series set in the same town as Mare of Easttown, that follows law enforcement officers and the criminals they’re trying to capture. “There's a couple for the astute viewers,” he teased about any Mare of Easttown crossovers. “You'll see some Easter eggs in there and you'll see a lot of familiar settings and places. It is set in the same place and I think if you liked Mare, you'll love Task. We got a wonderful cast. It's Mark Ruffalo, it's Tom Pelphrey, and we have a lot of great actors in the show. I'm really proud of what we've done and I'm really excited to get it out there in September.”
Echo Valley is streaming on Apple TV+, while Task comes to HBO Max in September.
