A whodunit with sex, untimely death and interpretive ASL dance? That's 'DTF St. Louis'

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HBO’s new dark comedy, “DTF St.Louis,” chronicles a deadly suburban love triangle between middle-aged adults who hope to spice up their sex lives via a hook-up app (thus the title of the series), or with the spouse’s best friend.It was inspired by a real scandal covered in the 2017 New Yorker article “My Dentist’s Murder Trial: Adultery, False Identities, and a Lethal Sedation ...,” but its connection to common true crime plots and schemes ends there.The seven-part limited series, which aired its second episode Sunday, subverts expectations at every turn, from its peculiar characters to the layered storytelling of writer-showrunner-director Steven Conrad to the nuanced performances of an enviable cast.David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) portrays earnest ASL interpreter Floyd, a once hunky but now portly fellow who suffers from Peyronie’s disease, a condition that results in a bent penis, following a mysterious accident.

Putting his heart and soul into his work, Floyd infuses hip-hop dance moves into his signing sessions to better serve the deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences (he learned the moves at his son’s dance class).Nothing, anywhere, is better than Harbour’s interpretive dance, side stage, at a pop concert.Jason Bateman (“Ozark”) portrays WTGK weatherman Clark Forrest, who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Floyd.

The bespectacled local celebrity seemingly has it together — riding his recumbent bike to and from work each day, drinking healthy green juices, playing board games with his family on the weekends.But look again.Linda Cardellini (“Dead to Me”) plays Carol, Floyd’s pragmatic spouse.

She has big dreams, like being able to pay the mortgage and send her troubled son Richard (Arlan Ruf) to a private school.But it’s not going to happen on her accounting clerk salary at Purina, let alone Floyd’s meager earnings.

When Carol and...