Entertainment
‘DTF St. Louis’ Makes Unexpected Progress in Its Twisty Love Triangle Murder Mystery
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 3 of DTF St. Louis.]
Summary
The HBO limited series DTF St. Louis follows what happens when local weatherman Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman) starts an affair with Carol Smernitch (Linda Cardellini) and her husband Floyd (David Harbour), Clark’s on-air ASL interpreter and friend, ends up dead. Partnered to get to the bottom of what appears to be a murder with curious circumstances, Donoghue Homer (Richard Jenkins) and Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday) start to pick up on the lies and holes in the stories of both Clark and Carol and wonder if one of them is responsible for the crime. As suspicions start to pile up, Homer and Jodie uncover the secrets of a Playgirl layout, a fickle Jamba Juice order, a DTF St. Louis dating site for discreet affairs, and a P.O. box that could give them the answers they’re looking for.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Jenkins and Sunday discussed their reaction to the shows explanation for the purpose of P.O. boxes, the evolution in the Homer and Jodie partnership, navigating their dynamic as they work on the case together, a funny improvised moment from Sunday, why Homer ended up with his notepad, and shooting the first conversation Jodie had with Carol. Sunday also said she’s excited to see where things go next for her Wednesday character, Bianca Barclay, as she films Season 3.
Collider: There are so many weird and unusual things going on in the show, and now I’m always going to wonder if God really did invent P.O. boxes so that all the dildos have somewhere to go, because that does seem like the most logical explanation. When you guys read these scripts, what were your reactions to some of those moments?
RICHARD JENKINS: My reaction to it was, “I never thought of P.O. boxes like that,” and we say that. That’s why (creator) Steve [Conrad] is smarter than me. The writing is so great in this. It’s so human and different and alive. It’s crazy.
The Partnership Between Homer and Jodie Will Evolve and Change in ‘DTF St. Louis’
“We both grow in this piece.”
I love your characters together because they couldn’t be more different, which immediately makes their dynamic interesting. What did you guys think your characters think of each other, especially when they first meet, and how does that change by the end of the season, or does it change?
JENKINS: Yeah, it does change. You will see that it changes a lot. The three leads, you really see them. For us, many times the police are used as vehicles to get you from one scene to the other to explain what’s going on. But we both grow in this piece. We both are affected by the case we’re dealing with, and we grow as people. That’s so rare in pieces like this.
In the heart of suburbia, three lives intertwine through a dating app, but one death throws the town into chaos.
Joy, what was it like for you, as you started figuring out your character? It sometimes feels like she has things bubbling inside her that she’d like to say, but she’s also professional, so that’s probably why she doesn’t say certain things. How did you see that with her?
JOY SUNDAY: I think Jodie finds a lot of worth in observing and using the best course of action to move forward and to make progress. She knows that sometimes means scaling back her ego. And then, especially being a detective, when you’re moving forward and asking questions, people assume that you’re making judgments of them. I think Jodie really likes to approach things with curiosity and therefore allows for people to reveal themselves naturally, which I think helps her a lot, especially in this case where people are really layered and hold back pieces of themselves.
JENKINS: He does tend to mansplain a lot, doesn’t he?
SUNDAY: Yeah. Especially at the outset, this kind of dynamic isn’t new to her, so she’s not going to allow that to prevent her from making progress.
Joy Sunday Says That Jodie Is Focused on Seeking the Truth in ‘DTF St. Louis’
“That moment is great.”
In episode two, the moment when Homer asks Jodie to go interview Carol while he’s interviewing Clark was an interesting one. What was that like to figure out? What did you think of that moment between them? It feels like she really wanted to argue with him about that, but also then goes and does it and gets information that he might not have. He might not have realized that Carol was lying.
SUNDAY: That moment is really special. That is probably one of my favorite scenes that we shot. But also, for Jodie, that moment is great because she goes, and she sits back down, and she has a moment to reassess something, and that is what helps her to move along. In the ways that Homer can block her way or not give her what she wants, she still finds a way to redirect and to continue seeking truth. That’s a huge part of why we were able to unveil the mystery.
JENKINS: There was one take they didn’t use where I finally said, “So, you go do that,” and she didn’t move. She stood there. And I didn’t move. I waited. And she didn’t move. I waited, and I didn’t move. This went on for about a minute or so, and finally they yelled, “Cut!” Steve said, “Somebody has got to go do something.”
SUNDAY: And then I broke out laughing.
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The series also stars David Harbour and Linda Cardellini.
When Jodie goes to interview Carol, there is a point in the conversation when Carol asks her to speak up. That was almost jarring in that moment because I felt like you were speaking very clear and concise. What do you think that was about? How did you feel about that exchange? Was she doing that intentionally?
SUNDAY: That’s a moment where Jodie really shines. When it first happens, she recognizes that this person is being a little bit strange and just takes it as it is because she’s seeking truth. Of course, she has her suspicions, but she doesn’t allow that to color how she’s going about this. As it moves along, she can’t always be an angel and her frustration peeks out. But because she knows that it’s better to just be objective and try to move along, she has to entertain it and take it as a mental note that she’s going to file for later.
Richard Jenkins Thought Homer Needed To Have a Notepad in ‘DTF St. Louis’
“I didn’t know what I was going to do with it.”
Richard, I love that your character keeps a notebook that he writes initials in for things that he doesn’t want to fully write out, including jotting down A.P. for ass play. I thought that was hilarious. Was that something in the script? Was that something you came up with? Was that something that kept coming up? Did you keep trying to find places to stick that in?
JENKINS: No, it wasn’t in the script, but that’s Steve. I said, “Maybe for this interview, I’d like a notepad.” I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I held the thing and I asked the question, and he said, “Ass play.” And I said, “What’s that?” And then, I just wrote down A.P. Steve started laughing about it and said, “Did you write anything?” And I said, “Yeah, A.P.” And so, he went over and he filmed it. And then, I had one more when I wrote two other initials down for some other sexual connotation. And so, that became a thing that we did. It just happened one day.
The show has seemingly forgotten one of its most interesting characters.
Joy, as much as I love this character, I also love your character in Wednesday and I’m happy to know we’ll be seeing more of her. What are you most looking forward to with Season 3 of that show? Are you shooting yet?
SUNDAY: Yeah, production just started in Ireland, and it’s a blast so far. I’m really excited to see, this [season], where it all goes. We have so many great, legendary additions to the cast, so it’s very exciting.
It’s a fun character that I feel like we still have so much to learn about.
SUNDAY: For sure.
- Release Date
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2026 – 2026-00-00
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Steve Conrad
- Directors
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Steven Conrad
- Writers
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Steven Conrad
DTF St. Louis airs on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.
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