HBO's elaborate New Orleans-set drama (with lots of music) Treme (pronounced tre-may, meaning the Congo Square area of NOLA where African music flourished long ago) premieres tonight at 10pm, so somehow juggle your viewing between it and Breaking Bad on AMC, for a double dose of riveting television.
Treme's recent publicity blast took a sad turn with the sudden death on March 30th of writer/creator David Mills, who collapsed while on location with the show in New Orleans. It was a sad loss for the entertainment industry as a whole, but particularly so for Treme, which was a pet project into which Mills had poured his heart and soul.
Spotlighting the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as it came up against the indomitable spirit of the citizens of New Orleans, Treme focuses on the vibrant New Orleans jazz music scene and its rebirth after the destruction. A great cast is on board -- John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Steve Zahn, Khandi Alexander, Rob Brown and so many more -- and we know we're going to get the characteristic first-class HBO excellence.
Do visit the HBO Treme website for more information, but I have to be honest and say that it's extremely difficult to navigate and I can't even find a decent link to put here for the scheduling of the series. (Maybe it's just me...). But at least I do know it all begins tonight, at 10pm. You can bet your beignet on that.
I'm afraid I didn't quite "get" Treme, and I was really looking forward to it. Other than John Goodman's (forgive me) larger than life performance, I thought it dragged a bit. Willing to give it a few more chances, but I'm afraid I wasn't blessed with the gene that makes one like works by the late David Mills. Never understood The Wire either, although I admit I'm in the minority. It will be interesting to see how long Treme can continue without the vision of Mr. Mills.
ReplyDelete