The Treme (pronounced treh-MAY) is one of New Orleans oldest and traditionally black neighborhoods. It is also the home of some of its musical legends. The area was one of those hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. HBO’s new series explores the lives of some of its residents in the weeks following the disaster. But thankfully, it isn’t an angry polemic so much as a celebration of one of America’s more colorful cities.
(Warning: language)
The Wire producer/creator David Simon and Eric Overmyer has brought together an eclectic cast including John Goodman and the ever zany Steve Zahn, to create an ode to the Big Easy and its citizens, while taking a few opportunities to show how the government often fails the citizens. Simon, who co-created one of the best crime shows ever, The Wire, is a rare commodity in Hollywood. He’s not only a great writer, he’s a liberal who is critical of big government. Simon is a former journalist who covered the mean streets of Baltimore in his youth and developed a seasoned cynicism when looking at the big picture. His stories deal with people on all levels of society trying to operate in a dysfunctional landscape.
Where the Wire tackled Baltimore, Treme deals with New Orleans. Famous for great music, food, culture as well as poverty, corruption and crime. While the show is, in many ways, a love letter to the town, it is also realistic portrait. Neither Democrats nor Republicans are spared when politics rears its ugly head, but Simon is less interested in politics than the people whose lives are effected by it.
John Goodman plays Creighton Bernette, an English professor who’s angry that the city’s problems are being handled so badly. His wife Toni (Melissa Leo) is a civil rights lawyer who deals with the poor. She’s trying to help bar owner Ladonna Batiste-Williams (Khandi Alexander) find her brother who was arrested during the flood and seems to be lost in the jail system. No one knows where he is or even why he was arrested. Janette Desautel (Kim Dickens, from Deadwood) is a restaurant owner trying to keep her business alive, while her part time musician/”friend with benefits” Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn) is busy trying to put jazz CDs together. The Wire alums Wendell Pierce and Clark Peters are on hand to play two aspects of the rich culture of the city. Pierce plays Antoine Batiste, a well known and respected jazz trombonist who’s always broke and has girlfriends all over town. Peters plays Albert Lambreaux, a mardi gras leader and costume maker who’s trying to get everyone back together for Mardi Gras, even though many have fled to other states. He’s determined to keep the cultural traditions alive in his community and won’t take no for an answer.
Every episode is full of wonderful music and flavor. Despite all the problems the characters are having it’s doesn’t dwell on them, but rather shows how they all come together to try to solve problems and rebuild their city. As is usual with a Simon show, many disparate characters from all walks of life cross paths eventually. Their lives become intertwined for a story that feels organic and natural. It’s one of the strengths of his series, is that they don’t feel forced or fake. There may be political views expressed here and there, but Simon deals with it all in an evenhanded fashion.
The show is full of real characters, natural dialog and acting and some real sweet jazz and dixieland.
Treme airs Sunday nights on HBO.