DTF St. Louis: HBO's 7-Part Thriller With 13 Emmy Nominations Is A Perfect Weekend Binge

2 hours ago 10

Published Sep 4, 2026, 2:12 PM EDT

Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant with expertise in new streaming releases. He's published over 3000 articles at SR, including weekly recommendation guides and dozens of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. He previously worked in Development at ABC Television & Lawrence Bender Productions.

Greg majored in Film Production at Chapman University's Dodge College. Greg also has years of broadcast TV production experience at major networks such as NBC, TNT, and ESPN. He currently lives in Greater Boston.

HBO's 7-part thriller/dark comedy series earned 13 nominations at the 2026 Emmy Awards and is one of the best shows to binge-watch in just one weekend. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast led by Jason Bateman, David Harbour, Linda Cardellini, Richard Jenkins, Peter Sarsgaard, and more, this HBO original miniseries was created, written, and directed by Steve Conrad, known for his films like Wonder and previous series such as Patriot. With a total runtime of just under six hours, this star-studded thriller is built for a weekend binge.

DTF St. Louis is still one of the best new HBO shows to binge in just one weekend, especially with the Creative Arts Emmys taking place this weekend, followed by the 2026 Emmys on Monday, September 14. Since DTF St. Louis has a whopping 13 nominations, trailing only The Pitt (25), Hacks (24), Widow's Bay (19), Pluribus (18), and Beef (16), it's the perfect time to binge or rewatch the series, especially for those trying to see as many Emmy-nominated shows as possible before the ceremony airs live on NBC and Peacock.

HBO's DTF St. Louis Earned 13 Emmy Nominations For A Reason

HBO's hit series DTF St. Louis has been critically acclaimed since it premiered back in March, earning a strong 89% Rotten Tomatoes score. It also became one of HBO Max's biggest streaming hits of spring 2026, generating 3.5 million views for its finale episode, and is currently a favorite to win the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Emmy Award alongside Netflix's Beef season 2. Several of its Emmy nominations are in acting categories, including Supporting Actor/Actress for Bateman, Harbour, Cardellini, Jenkins, and Joy Sunday, and Conrad is also up for Writing and Directing prizes.

DTF St. Louis begins as a murder mystery thriller following the surprising death of a key character, but it mostly exists in a hilarious, even awkward, dark comedic space where things can get quite strange quite quickly. It all starts when Bateman's weatherman protagonist Clark Forrest tells his friend and neighbor Floyd Smernitch (Harbour), a lovable man struggling with self-esteem issues, about a meet-up app called DTF St. Louis. The series peels back the layers in a non-linear format to reveal the truth of how a seemingly good dynamic could end up in absolute tragedy.

One of the best qualities of DTF St. Louis is how unserious it can be at times, even playing jokes on its own genre and parodying its core murder investigation. Some moments feel like a spoof or a skit of a gritty crime series, as these characters make themselves vulnerable in a desperate search for truth and connection. This may sound vague, but the bottom line is that whatever you think DTF St. Louis is about before watching it, odds are you're way off base, as the series is full of surprises, twists, and revelations that reveal the show's true colors.

HBO's 7-Part Thriller Is A Perfect Weekend Binge Before The Emmys

Jason Bateman, Linda Cardellini, David Harbour in DTF St. Louis

If you missed the hype train for DTF St. Louis when new episodes were being released on HBO Max in March and April, you now have the added benefit of being able to binge-watch the entire series from start to finish. With its relatively short length, you don't have to dedicate your entire weekend to it, and you could even start and finish it in one night if so desired. Some parts of DTF St. Louis can start to feel repetitive, especially in its early episodes as the mystery begins to unfold, but ultimately the ending is strong enough that it's worth sticking with it until the credits roll.

With the 2026 Emmys less than 10 days away now, the Limited/Anthology Series category is one of the easiest to tackle before the award ceremony takes place if you're eager to see as many of the nominations as possible. Even among its competitors, which include Beef, All Her Fault, The Beat in Me, and Love Story, DTF St. Louis is one of the easiest and most entertaining to dive into this weekend.