When HBO releases a new trailer, you pay attention, and when that trailer shows off a new series starring Jason Bateman, you double down on that attention. Bateman has become something of a TV star in recent years – he's gone from a reliable comic actor to a dramatic presence who knows how to tread the line between relatability and simmering threat.
Now he's playing the lead role in HBO's latest limited series, DTF St. Louis. He's a weatherman on local TV who just so happens to be good friends with his co-anchor (played by David Harbour, of Stranger Things and now Lily Allen fame). In the trailer we see them catching up at a family barbecue, with Harbour's character looking visibly listless and depressed.
Bateman introduces his friend to a hook-up app, the titular DTF St. Louis, and it clearly sparks something, since we get glimpses of Harbour setting up his profile and getting eager. Equally, we know it won't end well, since the trailer opens with his body being discovered, and we see multiple glimpses of Bateman's character being questioned by police.
In fact, there are more than enough hints in this one trailer that Bateman won't be playing a good guy in the show. It's fairly implicit that he's having an affair with Harbour's wife (played by Linda Cardellini), and might have even more to hide beyond that. The nature of the app, meanwhile, might also not quite be what it seems.
The show looks like anxiety-inducing fun, and could be a really excellent mystery thriller given HBO's pedigree in the genre. It's garnering plenty of appreciation in the comments on YouTube, too, with more than one person saying very similar things: "I see Jason Bateman. I watch."
A few years ago, you wouldn't have called him the sort of actor to boast that magnetism, so things are clearly going well for him in a post-Ozark world. He was great in Carry-On back in 2024 on Netflix, so clearly enjoys leaning into morally dubious parts. DTF St. Louis will start on 1 March on HBO Max (and hopefully will come to Now and Sky here in the UK).
