Jason Bateman is no stranger to crime thrillers. From the slow-burn menace of Ozark to a career built on playing men who rationalize bad choices, Bateman has mastered the art of quiet moral collapse. But what happens when the crime thriller flips inward, when the danger is not a cartel or a kingpin, but desire itself? When the genre takes a dark, kinky turn that stretches far beyond a troubled couple, the result is something far more unsettling.

That tension fuels HBO’s latest gamble. The network’s next project is not interested in familiar prestige formulas. Instead, it leans into discomfort, mixing betrayal and suburban decay into a story that actively resists easy labels. This is a thriller that asks viewers to sit with the mess, not solve it.

The seven-episode limited series is called DTF St. Louis, and HBO just released its trailer. The show kicks off on March 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will also stream on HBO Max. DTF St. Louis stars Jason Bateman and David Harbour, alongside Richard Jenkins, Joy Sunday, Arlan Ruf, Peter Sarsgaard, and Chris Perfetti. The showrunner is Steven Conrad, best known for Patriot and Ultra City Smiths, who executive produces with Bateman and Harbour.

The project was first announced in development in 2022, initially attached to David Harbour and Pedro Pascal. Before HBO, Bateman had already become a Hollywood fixture, especially through Netflix. Ozark positioned him as a prestige-TV mainstay and earned him four Emmy nominations: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2018–2020, 2022) and won the  2019 Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, reinforcing his ability to anchor morally thorny material. With the DTF St. Louis trailer now out, it is clear this series pushes him into unfamiliar territory. The tone is stranger, darker, and far more provocative than anything in his previous work.

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But what exactly is DTF St. Louis about, and why is HBO framing it as a comedy with teeth rather than a straight thriller?

Love, s–, and death loom over the suburbs of Missouri in HBO’s upcoming comedy series DTF St. Louis, which centers on a volatile love triangle involving Jason Bateman and David Harbour as middle-aged dads whose lives unravel with brutal speed.

The trailer opens with a stark image. Harbour’s character is dead. From there, the story backtracks to expose the decisions that led to that outcome. Bateman’s character is having an affair with Harbour’s wife, played by Linda Cardellini. In an ulterior move, he introduces Harbour to a s-- app called DTF St. Louis, short for ‘Down to F—.’ 

What initially reads as a misguided attempt at connection quickly reveals itself as something more manipulative, even destructive. As the series unfolds, desire becomes leverage, friendship erodes into competition, and suburban boredom curdles into violence. DTF St. Louis is less interested in shock for shock’s sake than in examining how small betrayals compound and how masculinity, when threatened, can turn lethal.

With its sharp writing, stacked cast, and deliberate tonal whiplash, DTF St. Louis is shaping up to be one of HBO’s most provocative limited series in years. Whether it resonates or repels, it is unlikely to be ignored.

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What do you make of the first look of DTF St. Louis? Share your thoughts.