HBO Picks Up David Simon’s New Orleans Drama Treme

HBO has picked up David Simon’s New Orleans-set drama Treme. The size of the series order is still being determined, with the network looking at a fall premiere. Treme is a post-Katrina-themed drama that chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians. Simon co-created the project with longtime New Orleans resident Eric Overmyer, after the two former Homicide writers had discussed doing a show set in the Big Easy for years. The series will continue to be filmed in the Crescent City, where the pilot was shot.

Treme is led by another New Orleans native, Wendell Pierce, and includes Steve Zahn, Clarke Peters, Khandi Alexander, Melissa Leo, Kim Dickens and Rob Brown. Despite featuring The Wire cast members Pierce and Peters, people expecting the same show will be disappointed, Simon said. “This is not a ‘Wire’ redo with a New Orleans soundtrack,” he said. “It’s more of a character study looking at people trying to reconstruct their lives after their city has been destroyed and at a city that a living, breathing organism.”