Jason Bateman and David Harbour are DTF. The notoriously funny -- and occasionally scary -- actors have signed onto a new, darkly comedic limited series about a middle-aged love triangle gone wrong, from showrunner and executive producer Steve Conrad for HBO. The show is currently titled DTF St. Louis.
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For those who may not be hip to the social media lingo at play in the title, DTF stands for "down to f**k."
According to Deadline, DTF St. Louis is actually an evolution of an earlier project from Conrad and Harbour called My Dentist's Murder Trial. HBO greenlit that series two years ago, with Harbour and Pedro Pascal also attached to star and executive produce.
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Is DTF St. Louis a True Story? ✕ Remove Ads
The original inspiration for the story came from a 2017 New Yorker article from writer James Lasdun, who wrote about the time his dentist was put on trial for murder in 2015. That show was slated to be a true-crime drama about an upstate New York dentist named Dr. Gilberto Nunez (played by Pascal), who went to trial for allegedly killing his friend Tom Kolman (played by Harbour). The series was still in pre-production with Harbour and Pascal as recently as April 2023. However, little is known about how or why the series has evolved into this current iteration, nor has a reason for Pascal's exit been given.
"With David Harbour and Jason Bateman at series center, two masterful titans in their own right, we couldn't be more emboldened by the journey ahead and look forward to sharing this special, emotionally provocative piece with the world," explained Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films.
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According to the original article, "Nunez, who is fifty, was having an affair with Linda Kolman. He impersonated a C.I.A. officer as part of a scheme to prod her to abandon her husband. When she ended the affair, Nunez threatened suicide. Eventually, the suicidal impulse turned homicidal."
On the morning of the death, "Nunez met him at the gym. Security-camera footage apparently showed their cars sitting next to each other for twenty-eight minutes, then Nunez's car pulling away. Midazolam, a sedative used only by doctors and dentists, was found in Thomas's body, and vials of the drug were discovered in Nunez's office. A Wikipedia search for midazolam was logged on his computer."
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In its newer iteration, DTF St. Louis has moved locations (from upstate New York to St. Louis, Missouri) and updated its tone from a straight-up true crime drama, to something decidedly more comedic. There are no additional details about the plot and character changes (if any) currently available to the public, but Lasdun is still slated to executive produce the series alongside the same creative team from before. This includes writer, director, and showrunner Conrad, as well as Harbour, Bateman, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Molly Allen, Bruce Terris, Michael Costigan, and Kristina Wenson. MGM Television is also involved.