HBO's DTF St. Louis Is Already One of Its Best

HBO has built a strong track record with one-season thriller miniseries like The Night Of, Sharp Objects, Mare of Easttown and The Penguin. Its newest entry, DTF St. Louis, has earned an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes and is quickly attracting a devoted audience.

The seven-part dark comedy from Steven Conrad centers on the friendship between straight-laced weatherman Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman) and the affable Floyd Smernitch (David Harbour), with Linda Cardellini as Floyd’s wife, Carol Love-Smernitch. What begins as a portrait of middle‑aged companionship turns into a murder mystery when one of the trio is found dead under strange circumstances.

Detectives Donoghue Homer (Richard Jenkins) and Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday) uncover secrets tied to a dating app called DTF St. Louis, where married couples are encouraged to have affairs, and the series unfolds through flashbacks and nonlinear storytelling. The show balances dark themes with an undercurrent of absurd humor, and the nonlinear structure keeps its pace brisk.

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