We all know the drill when it comes to HBO true crime drama series. The series opens with a body discovered in a suspicious location and the leading detectives suspect foul play. They begin gathering evidence and interviewing friends and family of the murder victim. Over the course of anywhere between 6 to 10 episodes they investigate until they eventually have their murder suspect in custody. It’s a tired, but true formula that HBO has practically perfected. However, Steven Conrad decided to take a different approach to his crime drama series, DTF St. Louis. By breaking up the formula, DTF St. Louis is not only one of the most captivating crime dramas HBO has released in a long time, but one of its most sincere.
Stuck is the mundaneness of middle-age suburbia, three adults engage in a twisted and kinky love triangle. Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman, Zootopia) a charismatic weatherman, Floyd Smernitch (David Harbour, Stranger Things), a down on his luck interpreter, and his wife, Carol Love-Smernitch (Linda Cardellini, Brokeback Mountain) a little-league baseball umpire. What starts off as an exploration of sexuality turns into a nightmare as one of them ends up dead.
The series opens up with the discovery of Floyd’s body in a community pool room. At first the detectives leading the investigation, Donoghue Homer (Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water) and Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday, Wednesday), suspect it to be death by natural causes or suicide. But when a prescription drug is found to be in Floyd’s system that he does not have a prescription for, the detectives suspect foul play. Which leads the series to do the unthinkable, make an arrest in the first episode, the arrest of Clark Forrest for murder in the first degree. The detectives believe they have a clear way to conviction. However, over the course of the next several episodes, the path may not be as clear as they thought it would be as they dive into a world of sexuality, friendship, and loneliness.
By opening the series with an arrest, it allows the series to really dive into the mysterious complexity of this situation rather than focusing on the spectacle of investigation. Flashing back and forward in time during interrogations it allows us to see that there is more to this situation than meets the eye. Floyd and Carol are in a loveless marriage, primarily due to Floyd having a crooked penis. Carol feels sexually unfulfilled while Floyd feels rejected which causes him to spiral into a deep state of depression. Then enters Clark, a charismatic weatherman who has sexual desires that his wife is unable to fulfill. He immediately starts an affair with Carol and begins a close friendship with Floyd. Over the course of the series seven episodes, we alongside the detectives, watch this love triangle turn into a thruple as they fulfill each other’s sexual and personal desires. However, it is clear something along the way went wrong and it is up to us and the detectives to figure it out.
As the seven episodes went by your intuition regarding this case will change dramatically episode to episode. The moment when you believe you finally have a grasp of who the murderer is, the series pulls the rug out from underneath you and throws you right back to square one. Back to questioning every piece of evidence that has been presented before you. By keeping you on your toes, the series ends up delivering something rather rare in true crime drama series, sincerity. During this investigation, we explore the complex relationship between Carol, Floyd and Clark. We discover the meaning of their friendship, their sexuality, and the tragic loneliness each one tries to hide, without a clear answer. The performances meet that complexity head-on giving each character a depth that is difficult to shake. What emerges isn’t a conventional true crime drama built on shock or spectacle, but something closer to a human tragedy.
At the end of the day, DTF St. Louis makes it clear that it isn’t just another polished true crime entry into HBO’s catalog. It is something quieter, and albeit more tragic. An exploration of middle-age suburbia, disguised as a true crime drama. The series focuses on that slow, creeping sense of stagnation, when life flattens into routine and the desire for something different, something drastic, starts to take hold. But the kind of change these characters crave isn’t the kind you can openly admit to, so it gets buried. And in that hidden part of yourself, it curdles into something self destructive. By the time it surfaces, the damage radiates outward, consuming everything within reach, including the people at the center of it.
My Rating: A-
All episodes are now streaming on HBOMax.
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