Treme: American TV Drama Series

Treme is an American television drama series created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer. It takes its name from Tremé, a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. The series begins three months after Hurricane Katrina where the residents of New Orleans, including musicians, chefs, Mardi Gras Indians, and ordinary New Orleanians try to rebuild their lives, their homes and their unique culture in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane.
The series premiered on HBO April 11, 2010, with an 80-minute pilot episode, the first of a 10 episode season. On April 13, 2010, it was announced that HBO had renewed the show for a second season.
Simon and Overmyer first worked together as writers on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street and became friends. They collaborated again on Simon's series The Wire when Overmyer joined the crew as a consulting producer and writer in 2006. Treme was put into development by HBO in 2008 shortly after the conclusion of The Wire. The show was envisioned to focus on the working class Tremé neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and will be smaller in scope than The Wire, which examined an entire city.
Overmyer lived part-time in New Orleans and Simon believed his experience would be valuable in navigating the "ornate oral tradition" of the city's stories. Simon has stated that the series would explore New Orleans culture including and beyond the music scene to encompass political corruption, the public housing controversy, the criminal-justice system, clashes between police and Mardi Gras Indians, and the struggle to regain the tourism industry after the storm. Simon also consulted with New Orleans musicians Donald Harrison Jr., Kermit Ruffins, and Davis Rogan, and local chef Susan Spicer while developing the series.
In 2008 HBO commissioned a pilot episode for the series but did not "green-light" a complete series at that time. The pilot was announced at the 2008 Television Critics Association summer press tour. Simon initially hoped to film the pilot episode of the series in 2008 and to continue filming in 2009 if the series was commissioned. The series was planned to film on location and was predicted to be a boost to the New Orleans economy.
The pilot did not actually begin filming in New Orleans until March 9, 2009. Award-winning Polish director Agnieszka Holland was hired to direct the pilot. Holland had worked with the creators previously on The Wire, directing three episodes of that series. After the pilot was written HBO commissioned another ten scripts.