diff --git a/src/blackboard/queries.py b/src/blackboard/queries.py
index c974622..20c9fcc 100644
--- a/src/blackboard/queries.py
+++ b/src/blackboard/queries.py
@@ -51,7 +51,10 @@ class Queries:
             ).fetchall()
             result = []
             for r in rows:
-                deps = json.loads(r["depends_on"] or "[]")
+                try:
+                    deps = json.loads(r["depends_on"] or "[]")
+                except (json.JSONDecodeError, TypeError):
+                    deps = []
                 if deps:
                     dep_rows = conn.execute(
                         f"SELECT id, status FROM tasks WHERE id IN ({','.join('?' * len(deps))})",
@@ -94,7 +97,10 @@ class Queries:
             ).fetchall()
             result = []
             for r in rows:
-                deps = json.loads(r["depends_on"] or "[]")
+                try:
+                    deps = json.loads(r["depends_on"] or "[]")
+                except (json.JSONDecodeError, TypeError):
+                    deps = []
                 if not deps:
                     result.append(Task.from_row(r))
                     continue