Is DTF St. Louis Based on a Real-Life Story? The True Crime Case That Inspired the HBO Series

The new HBO dark comedy DTF St. Louis has audiences talking. The show brings together an impressive cast including David Harbour, Jason Bateman, and Linda Cardellini in a twisted tale of suburban affairs, secret dating apps, and a suspicious death. With its shocking plot twists and uncomfortable humor, many viewers are asking one simple question: Did this really happen?

The answer is complicated. The series takes inspiration from a real murder case from upstate New York that made national headlines. But the creative team behind the show made a deliberate choice to step away from the true story and build something entirely fictional. Here is everything you need to know about the real-life case that started it all and why the show went in a different direction.

The Real Murder Case That Sparked the Idea

The original inspiration for DTF St. Louis came from a 2017 New Yorker article titled “My Dentist’s Murder Trial.” The piece, written by James Lasdun, chronicled a bizarre and tragic love triangle that ended with a man dead in his car.

In November 2011, Thomas Kolman was found dead inside his vehicle outside a Planet Fitness in Ulster, New York. An autopsy later revealed that his body contained midazolam, a powerful sedative commonly used by dentists and doctors. The investigation eventually led to his friend, a dentist named Dr. Gilberto Nunez.

Prosecutors alleged that Nunez had been carrying on an affair with Kolman’s wife, Linda. When Linda tried to end the relationship, the dentist allegedly went to extreme lengths to keep her, including impersonating a CIA officer and creating fake documents in a failed attempt to convince her to leave her husband. Security footage from the gym showed the two men parked next to each other for 28 minutes before Nunez’s vehicle drove away. Investigators later found vials of midazolam in the dentist’s office, along with Wikipedia searches about the drug on his computer.

In June 2016, a jury found Nunez not guilty of murder. However, he was convicted on felony forgery charges related to the fake CIA documents and later convicted of insurance fraud in separate trials. Nunez served 19 months in state prison and remained on parole until October 2023.

Why the Show Dropped the True Story

When HBO first announced the project in 2022, it was titled My Dentist’s Murder Trial and planned as a direct adaptation of the New Yorker article. David Harbour and Pedro Pascal were both attached to star, with Pascal reportedly set to play a version of the real-life dentist.

But things changed during development. By 2024, Pascal had left the project, and the creative direction shifted dramatically. Series creator Steven Conrad explained that he struggled with adapting a real person’s story.

“None of us felt comfortable about making up qualities and then attributing them to real people,” Conrad told SlashFilm. “So we thought we ought to call it, start over, maintain that instance that got us together anyway, which is suspense in a suburban setting, and see what we could do if we just leaned into make-believe.”

Conrad also shared with The A.V. Club that he had already been developing his own fictional ideas and characters. When he tried to fit those made-up elements into the real circumstances of the Nunez case, he found that the “details didn’t align with what I considered to be the facts of that case.”

The Real Inspiration: Middle-Aged Friends Making Bad Choices

Instead of a true crime adaptation, Conrad pivoted to something closer to home. He told PEOPLE magazine that watching his own middle-aged friends struggle with temptation and poor decisions became the show’s new foundation.

“I’m in my middle age, and most of my friends are too, and, somehow or another, it’s another phase of life where people make terrible decisions,” Conrad explained. “The first one’s 14, and no one wants to live through that again. But that same misguided, desperate need to fit in or to find someone to feel safe, it comes back around in middle age, and it can lead to bad decision-making.”

The creator pointed specifically to the rise of hookup apps aimed at married people seeking no-strings-attached encounters. “That idea that there could be excitement without consequences. I had friends who were falling into that trap, and that just seemed like an unlikely bargain. I remember thinking, ‘This will go poorly.’”

What Is DTF St. Louis Actually About?

The series follows Floyd (David Harbour), a sign language interpreter dealing with a passionless marriage to his wife Carol (Linda Cardellini). Floyd also suffers from Peyronie’s disease, a condition that causes a curved and painful penis following a mysterious accident. His life takes a turn when he befriends local weatherman Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman).

Clark, who is secretly having an affair with Carol, introduces Floyd to a dating app called DTF St. Louis that caters to married people looking for discreet sexual encounters. The situation spirals when Floyd turns up dead, leaving detectives Homer (Richard Jenkins) and Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday) to untangle the web of secrets, lies, and betrayals.

The show blends dark comedy with genuine suspense. Jason Bateman described it as a story about people who “bite off a bigger chunk than they can really handle.” Linda Cardellini added that the series contains “smaller mysteries, bigger mysteries” that come together like a tapestry.

Fan Theories and Suspects

With three episodes already aired, viewers are busy trying to solve the murder themselves. Online discussions on Reddit and social media point to several possible killers.

Some fans suspect Clark’s wife Eimy (Wynn Everett), noting that she had access to his phone, credit card, IP address, and even his recumbent bicycle. She could have created the “Tiger Tiger” dating profile that lured Floyd to his death.

Others point to Carol. She instigated the affair with Clark, appears motivated by money more than passion, and was seen pushing for a life insurance policy on Floyd right before his death. The show has cleverly used Linda Cardellini’s likable screen persona to make viewers question whether someone so familiar could actually be capable of murder.

Even Floyd’s stepson and the mysterious character “Modern Love” played by Peter Sarsgaard have emerged as potential suspects.

Where to Watch DTF St. Louis

The seven-episode limited series airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and is available for streaming on Max. New episodes release weekly, with the finale scheduled for April 12 in the US.

For viewers in the UK, the show airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV, with the finale expected on April 13. Australian audiences can watch on Binge, while Canadian viewers can find it on Crave. Indian audiences can stream the series on JioHotstar.

The creative team filmed the entire series as if it were a “seven-hour movie,” with Conrad directing every episode. Interestingly, the cast shot the final scene on their very first day of production.

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