With an all-star cast, an intriguing premise and the added element of a classic whodunnit, new HBO Max dark comedy DTF St. Louis has it all.
Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini star in the seven-part series as a trio caught up in a love triangle gone wrong – spurred on by the use of the titular hookup app.
But when an extramarital affair ends in a shock death, all signs point to murder in this deliciously juicy series that already has us hooked.
Intrigued? Here’s everything you need to know about DTF St. Louis. Warning: Contains spoilers!
What is DTF St. Louis about?
David Harbour (Stranger Things) stars as American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter Floyd Smernitch. A middle aged, overweight man and frustrated stepfather, the spark has long gone out of his marriage to Purina pet food accounting clerk Carol (Linda Cardellini).
Her side gig as a baseball umpire, complete with a hilariously cumbersome and unflattering padded uniform – which he simply can’t get out of his mind – has left Floyd flaccid.
Encouraged by his new friend and colleague Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman), the men embark on a journey of exploration via dating app DTF St. Louis in a bid to “spice up” their lives.
But Clark – a weatherman at a local TV station who’s married with two children – looks a little too close to home for his extramarital adventure: with Floyd’s wife!
And when Floyd winds up dead, suspicion immediately falls on the cheating couple.
Detective Donoghue Homer (Richard Jenkins) and special crimes officer Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday) will have their work cut out for them piecing together this apparent crime of passion.
What has the cast said about DTF: St. Louis?
Jason, 57, admits he’s relishing this latest chapter in his career, in which he gets to embrace a darker side to his characters.
“I think I was either cursed or blessed with kind of like the guy-down-the-street kind of looks, persona,” he tells TV WEEK.
“And so there’s something kind of interesting maybe about that guy having a little bit something weird going on behind the curtain.
“I don’t know. Whatever it is, I’ll try not to question it too much, ’cause I feel really fortunate with the stuff I’ve been given lately.”
All three of the lead cast have résumés bursting with hit series. That experience helped them form a natural ease on this latest set quickly.
“I think we’ve all been really fortunate to be on great teams,” says Jason. “And it really is a team sport, what we do – and it’s not just the cast, it’s also the crew…
“To have good team skills is important to get something done, especially if it’s something complicated like this.”
Linda, 50, agrees, calling the show “lightning in a bottle”. “I feel like that there’s a relaxation that all of us have probably from working for so long that is really nice. We feel really relaxed on a set – sometimes probably more relaxed than in real life!
“And it’s like lightning in a bottle too, because there’s a lot of things that you think are good and then you get to set and there are different things where like, maybe it’s good, but it’s not as enjoyable.
“This was enjoyable… I would have loved for it to have gone on forever. It was really fun.”
There’s an “excitement about the quality” of the work, adds David, 50. He admits, “I think we’ve all been on shows that have been really good. And I’ve been in a lot of shows that have been not good!”
What research did the cast do for DTF St. Louis?
While their characters may be dipping their toes into the weird and wonderful world of hookup apps, Jason insists no such research was done prior to filming beginning.
“I think what was most important is to sort of just figure out how to play these characters in a way where it would be a rewarding experience for an audience to see these kind of sweet, vulnerable, broken people trying to grab and reach for a bigger piece of life than what they’re currently in,” he explains.
“And the fun, the danger, the comedy, the drama that that would entail is kind of what we’re hoping the audience enjoys, because we don’t really have anything else to fall back on.
“There’s no big special effects or anything in this – it’s just kind of a deeply human story.”
Playing an ASL translator, however, required four months of training for David. He worked with a translator from Broadway prior to filming and, later, with several others – including a specialist in interpreting for news events.
“I wanted to get facile with it, so she came and we started doing the alphabet and learning how to put sentences together and learning basic signs and really trying to get a facility just with the language without the lines,” he explains. “And then we went in and did the line specifically.
“And now I know nothing. I forgot it all!” he adds with a laugh. “We shot it like a year ago, it’s like I’ve forgotten it all.”
Is there a trailer for DTF St. Louis?
There sure is! And it’s a real doozy!
You can watch it below.
Where can I watch DTF: St. Louis?
DTF: St. Louis is now streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
New episodes drop every Monday.
