DTF St. Louis? More like DTL Everywhere (down to laugh, everywhere).
HBO’s headscratching new mystery-dramedy — don’t ask us to pick one specific genre because this series simply cannot be boxed in — is finally here and reminding us all that while it’s labeled “DTF,” the question we all have after watching Episode 1, “Cornhole,” is: “WTF.” And if you don’t know what that means, we’ll refer you to Google for those answers.
In the premiere episode of Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini‘s new show, the idea behind the title of the show is introduced pretty quickly, but it’s not exactly explained how it applies to the themes and questions the series plans to explore. There’s clearly a lot riding on this name, and just like Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday’s detective characters, we’re getting to the bottom of it.
So, whether you’re just in need of a quick recap or you’re looking for someone to help put the puzzle pieces in place on this weird and exciting new show, we’re here to help. Here’s what you need to know about why the show is called DTF St. Louis and what it all means…
In the context of the eponymous series, “DTF St. Louis” is the name of a dating app in the St. Louis, Missouri area — where the show is set — that is primarily used for hookups, and mostly among married people. It’s a little like Tinder in that there is a relationship connection being made, but the fictional app made for the show is certainly more direct than Tinder in its purpose, i.e., you’re meeting people to get a job done, if you know what we mean.
The concept is first explained by Clark (Bateman) to Floyd (Harbour) just a few minutes into the first episode. As the two swing on a swingset outside of Clark’s house — get it, they’re swinging?! — Clark explains that while he was waiting to go on the air to give his forecast, he heard the anchors discuss the NSFW-named app that allows people to hook up with others.
“So, you meet these people, married people — it’s mostly for married people, the reporter was saying — who are very happy and they want to stay in their healthy marriages, but they’re also down to like fuck people they’ve never met before, in St. Louis,” Clark says. “So, you can spice it, without creating commitments.”
“Spice what?” Floyd asks, to which Clark responds, “Spice your life, spice it up.”
While initially hesitant, Floyd tells Clark that his wife, Carol (Cardellini), has been recently taking jobs as an ump near their house to make extra money, and that the gear she has to wear for the gig has completely ruined their sex life. The next twenty minutes of Episode 1 explore Floyd setting up his profile to attract matches, only for the episode to reveal halfway through and “eight weeks later,” Floyd lying dead inside the “Kevin Kline Community Pool.”
The rest of the episode sets up a mystery-thriller to reveal what transpired over those eight weeks that led to Harbour’s character being dead inside a pool named after esteemed actor and St. Louis native, Kevin Kline. In truth, as of the end of the first episode, we don’t know what happened and how Floyd died, but it’s clear that it’s going to come back to DTF St. Louis.
Could it be that someone Floyd met on DTF St. Louis killed him? Or maybe Carol found out Floyd was on the app and murdered him out of pure anger? Or, as the show seemingly wants us to believe, did Floyd find out that Clark and Carol were romantically involved and Clark opted to get his friend out of the picture? All are possible, but in a show this twisty, all could be wrong.
Anyway you slice it, this mystery is going to start and end with DTF St Louis, the app, and we cannot wait to find out more about what it all means.
The first episode of DTF St. Louis is now streaming on HBO Max. New episodes premiere at 9 p.m. ET on Sundays.
If you’re new to HBO Max, you can sign up for as low as $10.99/month with ads, but an ad-free subscription will cost $18.49/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the discounted Disney+ Bundles with Hulu and HBO Max. With ads, the bundle costs $19.99/month and without ads, $32.99/month.
