Shows Like ‘DTF St. Louis’ You Should Watch Next

Each of writer/creator/director Steven Conrad’s series has been distinctive, that is to say, unsettling and offbeat. Patriot; Perpetual Grace, LTDand the difficult to distribute Ultra City Blacksmiths each has a style and tone that sets it apart from everything else on television, as well as from each other. They’ve also all struggled to stand out amid an animated streaming pack, although that might just change: just a few episodes in Conrad’s new HBO series DTF St. Louis creates a buzz.

The series follows Floyd Smernitch (Stranger Things’ David Harbour), a married sign language interpreter with a declining sex life and a strange penis (it’s a plot point) who saves the life of local weatherman and recumbent cyclist Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman). The two become friends and Clark introduces Floyd to a dating app for married people looking for side action. They both sign up, but a few weeks later, Floyd is found dead and the police investigate it as a murder (no spoilers: it all happens in the first act of the first episode). Linda Cardellini plays Carol, Floyd’s wife, who also has an affair with Clark.

HAS DTFCredit to, I’m not sure there’s another series exactly like this, but the 10 I’ve highlighted below all manage to juggle an equally clever, offbeat, and slightly surreal tone while unraveling plotlines rich in secrets and lies in unexpected settings. Flow DTF St. Louis on HBO Maxthen sample these other series between episodes.

Patriot (2015-2018)

Crossed with a vein of black comedy that would not be out of place in a Coen brothers film, Patriot is the story of a beleaguered intelligence officer who just can’t catch a break. Michael Dorman is John Tavner, responsible for ensuring that the leading candidate for the Iranian presidency doesn’t earn. An elaborate plan to support a more moderate rival candidate sees him take on an unofficial cover identity and get a job at a Milwaukee piping company. After failing the interview, he must eliminate his hapless competition for the job, then borrow urine for the drug test, efforts that eventually expose him to extortion, and things go downhill from there. As the errors began to pile up more and more, John’s situation becomes more and more precarious (and darkly hilarious – his musical talent means that much of the exposure comes in the form of extremely specific folk songs that he performs at open mics under another assumed name). The show comes from DTF St. LouisSteven Conrad, s’s own creator, so even if the genre isn’t a 1:1 match, the tone certainly is. Flow Patriot on Prime Video.

Deadloch (2023 – )

Both a twisty crime procedural and a brilliant satire of the genre, this Australian import follows Dulcie Collins (Kate Box), the fastidious senior sergeant of the police force in the fictional town of Deadloch. When a body appears on the beach, Dulcie is joined by Madeleine Sami’s Eddie Redcliffe, a foul-mouthed and generally obnoxious detective brought in to help solve the case. Their discovery of the web of secrets in the small Tasmanian town is addictive and, as an added bonus, crime thriller tropes are mercilessly mocked. A new season is coming soon. Flow Deadloch on Prime Video.

The chair company (2025 – )

Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin followed up on their Netflix sketch show I think you should go with Tim Robinson with this… cringe comedy/thriller? Somehow, this surreal, genre-defying adventure broke HBO Max records, and deservedly so. Robinson plays Ron Trosper, a middle manager tasked with building a new shopping center. A collapsing chair during a public presentation sends Ron on a quest to uncover a massive conspiracy. He is convinced that the broken chair is just the first rung on a ladder of sabotage. The series takes us with him on a darkly funny, sometimes horrific, journey down a rabbit hole that, nonetheless, feels like a reflection of a modern American work culture that is no less crazy than Ron’s chair conspiracy. Flow The chair company on HBO Max.

The psychologist next door (2021)

A dark comedy also based on a true story, this miniseries stars Will Ferrell as Marty Markowitz and Paul Rudd as his therapist, Dr. Ike Herschkopf. For nearly thirty years, the good doctor embedded himself in Marty’s life while collecting multi-million dollar payouts. Ferrell and Rudd play against the grain, building on the show’s central mystery: How on earth can a reasonable person give someone so much control over their existence? It’s not dark in any way, as the series also acknowledges that there is a fundamental absurdity to the relationship between the two. Flow The psychologist next door on Apple TV+.

Bodkin (2024)

Less domestic in its concerns than DTFThis one is nevertheless firmly in dark comedy/murder mystery territory. Bodkin takes us to the rather quirky Irish coastal town of the title. Will Forte plays Gilbert Power, an American podcaster who arrives to investigate the unsolved case of three people who went missing during a Samhain celebration three decades before. He is soon joined by Dove Maloney (Siobhán Cullen), a Dublin-born journalist who lived in London, and aspiring journalist Emmy Sizergh (Robyn Cara). It’s almost a satire of the genre, yet with an engaging mystery at its heart. Flow Bodkin on Netflix.

Perpetual Grace LTD (2019)

A cult favorite that didn’t last long, this was another distinctive series from Steven Conrad (co-created with Bruce Terris) that was unlike anything else on television. Jimmy Simpson (It’s always sunny in Philadelphia) plays James, a troubled and depressed former firefighter in rural New Mexico who finds himself embroiled in a scheme by Paul (Damon Herriman), the son of local pastor “Pa” Brown (Ben Kingsley). Dad is a bad guy who scams his parishioners through a shady rehabilitation center. Paul thinks he can get James to infiltrate the center and curry favor, robbing the shady pastor while an equally crooked local sheriff (Luis Guzman) pushes Pa aside. It’s a juicy, addictive neo-noir thriller, with the type of wonderfully stylized dialogue you’ll recognize from DTF. Buy Perpetual Grace LTD from Prime Video and Apple TV.

Landscapers (2021)

Another one in the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction genre, this dark comedy does several things that make it a little more interesting and a lot stranger than the usual true crime story. The first big choice lies in the casting: Olivia Colman and David Thewliss play Susan and Christopher Edwards, a mild-mannered couple who were discovered to have murdered Susan’s parents and buried them in the garden, while sending Christmas cards to the parents “on vacation.” The series cleverly doesn’t try to decipher motivations, but rather interrogates our need to understand people like Susan and Edward. Flow Landscapers on HBO Max.

The “suburbs” (2026 – )

A little dumber than DTFThis fun, loose adaptation of Tom Hanks’ 1989 film nevertheless covers much of the same ground: secrets, infidelity, and murder in unlikely places. Keke Palmer’s Samira and Jack Whitehall’s Rob return to their incredibly safe and tidy hometown, their new home across the street from a dilapidated Victorian eyesore that may or may not have been the scene of a murder a few decades before – a girl who just wanted to get out. As Samira adjusts to new motherhood and life in a bind, she learns that even the kindest of her neighbors (played by Julia Duffy, Paula Pell, Mark Proksch and Kapil Talwalkar) have secrets and comes to suspect that her husband knows more about the missing girl than he is letting on. Flow The “suburbs” on Peacock.

Dead for me (2019 – 2022)

Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini (also in DTF) form an all-time great TV duo in this dark and twisty comedy about a couple of women who unite through tragedy and lies. Applegate is Jen Harding, a real estate agent whose husband was killed in a hit-and-run; she’s not doing very well and takes some inspiration from Cardellini’s Judy, who retained a cheerful disposition after her fiancé Steve died of a heart attack – easier to do given that Steve is still secretly alive. And then we discover that Judy has a storage unit with a car that looks suspiciously like the one that killed Jen’s husband. This is all just part of the first episode, and the series only gets wilder from there. Flow Dead for me on Netflix.

How to get to paradise from Belfast (2026 – )

Probably the craziest and most surreal show on this list (which is saying a lot), How to get to heaven comes from the Irish playwright and Girls of Derry creator Lisa McGee, although that earlier and rightly beloved show doesn’t quite prepare you for McGee’s latest. Three Belfast high school friends reunite after learning their fourth best friend has died suddenly, except that may not be the case, a mixed blessing considering they all have secrets they were hoping to bury. Now they head out to investigate the maybe-murder mystery and immediately find themselves in over their heads. The tone is all over the place, in a way that really works somehow. Flow How to get to paradise from Belfast on Netflix.