Line #98 Series/Treme


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/treme_1020.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Won't bow, don't know how"]]
3
4	->''"Play for that money, boys, play for that mother-fuckin' money."''
5
6	Creator/DavidSimon's followup to ''Series/TheWire'', running from 2010 to 2013, which garnered just as much critical love right off the bat.
7
8	Beginning three months after Hurricane Katrina hit UsefulNotes/NewOrleans, the series follows several residents who are struggling to put their lives back on track, particularly centered around the titular neighborhood (which is pronounced "tre-may"). Ladonna Williams tries to keep her bar running while searching for her brother who has been missing since the hurricane. Her ex-husband Antoine Bastiste plays his trombone in any gig he can find to stave off poverty for his new family. Civil rights lawyer Toni Bernette helps Ladonna in her search, while her husband Creighton vents his anger at how the crisis was mismanaged at anyone who crosses his path. Alternative DJ Davis [=McAlary=] is enraged at the changes his station has been forced to make, and his "friend with benefits" Janette Desautel runs a high class restaurant on dwindling funds. Albert Lambreaux is driven to return to town to resume his position as a Mardi Gras Indian Chief, but faces opposition from both members of his tribe and his own children. Street violinist Annie faces the dissolution of her relationship when her boyfriend Sonny becomes envious of her superior talent.
9
10	Season Two skips ahead several months and begins on All Saints' Day 2006. More than a year after Katrina, more and more people are returning, but unfortunately this includes a good deal of criminals, plus one new major character in Nelson Hildalgo, a Texan with a very vaguely defined job who's looking to make some money off the rebuilding efforts.
11
12	Despite the show sharing several similarities with Simon's previous opus (wide-ranging cast of characters, brutally realistic stories, and a complete lack of artificial music), it distinguishes itself with a far more optimistic tone. Despite the bleak circumstances for many of the characters, they mostly hold onto hope that things can improve and the city can regain its former greatness.
13
14	Has a [[Characters/{{Treme}} Character Sheet]] that needs more love.
15	----
16
17	!!Tropes associated with ''Treme'':
18
19	* AcceptableBreaksFromReality:
20	** The production team has publicly stated they hope locals take any inaccuracies this way. It hasn't worked out 100% - see RealityIsUnrealistic below.
21	** The example offered by producers is Janette serving a Hubig's pie to Creighton in the pilot. At the time, Hubig's was still closed, meaning either it was a pre-Katrina (stale) pie, or, in David Mill's words, "a magic pie."
22	%%* AddedAlliterativeAppeal:
23	%%** Davis' slogan "Pot for potholes."
24	%%** Creighton's rant "Fuck you, you fucking fucks."
25	* AnAesop:: Albert's story in the first season focuses on the public housing issue. National leaders continue to advocate demolishing all of New Orleans' public housing projects, public hospitals, and public schools, many of which are the only buildings that didn't flood, since they were the first public works projects of the New Deal, in order to ensure that certain elements stay away from the "new" New Orleans; Albert objects.
26	* AfterTheEnd: The series starts a couple months after hurricane Katrina.
27	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Davis comes from an extremely upper crust family descended from Jefferson Davis and at least his mother is still quite racist.
28	* AmicableExes: Antoine and Ladonna, at least most of the time. Antoine even acknowledges that her new husband is probably a better father for their sons than he could be.
29	* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
30	** [[spoiler: "What do you ''do''?"]]
31	** When Davis takes a job as a tour guide, he finds himself forced to admit how many of the important places in the city's history have been torn down. Finally someone in the group asks him "Do you people preserve anything important?"
32	* AsHimself:
33	** Many New Orleans musicians guest star as themselves.
34	** Former New Orleans city councilman Oliver Thomas plays himself, all the way up to the part where [[spoiler: he's indicted of corruption and resigns, and even when he's in prison.]]
35	** Restaurant Critic Alan Richman also plays himself in Season 2, and his scathing review of New Orleans cuisine is featured. [[spoiler: Fair play to him, he allowed David Simon to have Janette the chef throw a drink in his face.]]
36	* AuthorAppeal: Inverted in the case of [[Series/NoReservations Anthony Bourdain]], who has made appeals to write for the show, and finally got his wish with a story co-credit in Season 2.
37	* BadCopIncompetentCop:
38	** The NOPD does not look very good in this series, though given the creators' pervious work, the subject was bound to come up. Offenses include brutality, stealing property, and attempted bribery. Even before Katrina, this sort of behavior was far from out-of-character for the NOPD. Several characters say as much throughout the series. New Orleans natives might say this is TruthInTelevision.
39	** David Morse's character, an 8th District watch commander, seems to be set up as the exception that proves the rule. (Although this being a Creator/DavidSimon production, something terrible could always happen.) This is also TruthInTelevision, as the 8th District covers the French Quarter and NOPD makes an effort to staff it with competent, honest cops.
40	* BasedOnATrueStory:
41	** In addition to the RealLife musicians, at least one character (John Goodman's professor Bernette) is based on a real person.
42	** Also subverted; fans speculated that Sonny and Annie were based on a real musician couple who broke up a few months after the hurricane, followed by the man murdering the woman and then jumping off a hotel roof a few days later. The producers have thoroughly denied it, and the real event is mentioned in Season Two.
43	** Davis is based partly on Davis Rogan, a ne'er-do-well musician and DJ, and much of Davis' life -- his chequered employment history, his songs, his banishment from local bars -- is taken directly from Rogan's. Rogan's friend Simply even appears as Davis's friend Simply. (For bonus recursion, Davis Rogan appears as himself in several scenes.)
44	* BerserkButton: The British TV reporter pushes Creighton's when he insults New Orleans by calling it a provincial city with outdated musical tastes. His microphone ends up in the river (and his camera almost does too).
45	* BigApplesauce: The narrative switches away from New Orleans sometimes, as a few characters work and/or reside in New York for a while.
46	* TheBigEasy
47	* BilingualBonus: French, Spanish, and Vietnamese are all used to provide extra plot and/or gags.
48	* BlackSheepHit: Davis considers the in-universe song "The True" this. Nobody really agrees with him.
49	* BookEnds: Done with some season premieres and finales:
50	** Season One begins and ends with a second line, and in Season Two it's a kid walking down the street practicing his trumpet.
51	** In Season Three, we start with musicians being arrested for an unauthorized tribute concert. At the end of the episode they do it again, and this time the cops act as their escort.
52	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Sofia in season two, though with more justification than most.
53	* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler: Terry]] leaves New Orleans in the finale after rationalizing he's burnt a big bridge. As he drives away from Louisiana, its music radio station becomes garbled, marking the sad end of an era.
54	* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: After two fellow musicians become popular after being (not really) arrested for an unpermitted parade, Antoine tries to get arrested at a follow up event. The police show up, but this time they're there to escort the musicians. Even worse, Antoine WAS arrested right after the first parade, but nobody saw it happen.
55	* CatchPhrase:
56	** Davis' "Right? RIGHT?"
57	** "Fuck me! Fuck me!" for Jeanette.
58	* ChekhovsSkill: In Season One, Davis demonstrates remarkable knowledge of wine when he steals some from Jeanette's restaurant. In Season Four, he spends some time working as her sommelier.
59	* ClusterFBomb: Creighton's first Website/YouTube video. Sofia later takes inspiration from him.
60	* CulturalPosturing: While many regard their city as a shining example of historical and cultural riches, Davis brings up the subject quite often, even with his neighbours, who unbeknown to him are also native of New Orleans. Creighton is also very vocally proud and touchy of his heritage.
61	* DarkerAndEdgier: The 2nd season, with a major focus on rising crime as more people start returning to the city.
62	* DeathGlare: Ladonna turns this into an art form.
63	* {{Determinator}}:
64	** Put any bureaucratic roadblocks in front of Toni, and you'll just make her try harder to get to the truth.
65	** Davis' relentless moxie makes up for his lack of talent, [[GiftedlyBad more or less]].
66	* DiedDuringProduction: Happens InUniverse after [[spoiler: Harley]] is murdered, when [[spoiler: Annie]] discovers a large collection of unfinished songs in his apartment, and attempts to finish them herself.
67	* DramaticIrony: Some characters in the Season 1 finale flashback --particularly Davis and Creighton -- discuss that the Katrina will amount to nothing or won't affect the city, as it's usually the case with most hurricanes.
68	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Creighton]]. Especially brutal as we're given a tour of all the warning signs that none of the other characters notice before it actually happens.
69	* EmbarrassingFirstName: Davis was named after his ancestor UsefulNotes/JeffersonDavis; he tells people it was actually for various celebrities like Sammy or Ossie.
70	* EverythingIsBigInTexas: Mentioned when Sonny takes a gig in Texas; it turns out some things are small in Texas.
71	* FoodPorn: New Orleans' legendary food culture is in full display here, especially as one of the characters is a SupremeChef running a gourmet restaurant.
72	* ForeignCussWord: "I think he just called you a motherfucker in Dutch."
73	* FourLinesAllWaiting: By Season Two, the show's scope is so wide that most characters only get two or three scenes an episode.
74	* FriendsWithBenefits: Discussed by Davis and Janette. She looks down on this kind of relationship, but Davis remarks the friendship part is the important one.
75	* FinaleCredits: See also SilentCredits.
76	* HenpeckedHusband: Antoine frequently considers himself to be this to Desiree, but as he's [[OneHourWorkWeek frequently unemployed]] and sleeps around a ton, her nagging of him is actually pretty reasonable.
77	* HonorBeforeReason: Albert. "Won't bow! Don't know how!"
78	* HotterAndSexier: Season 3 noticeably features more skin and sex scenes than the previous two.
79	* HypocriticalHumor: Davis speaks out against the gentrification of his neighborhood, but quickly changes his tune when it results in a pair of strippers moving in across the street.
80	* ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans:
81	** Not always, obviously, but preparations for the parades, and music in general, are central themes.
82	** And much of the first season leads up to Mardi Gras 2006 near the end, then continues to St. Joseph's Day. The show is realistic, though, as festivities and preparations begin (and are shown) in January.
83	* KnightInSourArmor:
84	** Creighton knows too well how bad New Orleans has it, and still calls it the greatest city in the world and wouldn't live anywhere else.
85	** Albert is this to a lesser extent.
86	* TheLastDJ: Davis plays this to a tee.
87	* LighterAndFluffier: Compared to ''Series/TheWire''. Then again, the same can be said of [[Literature/TheDivineComedy Dante's trip through Hell]].
88	* LingerieScene: Downplayed when Sofia has passed out from drinking too much during Mardi Gras and pukes on her shirt. Davis takes her home, takes off her shirt to wash it, and lets her sleep on his couch wearing just a bra and jeans. The scene is not played for fan service or sexual innuendo. Not even Annie takes it as that when she walks in on them.
89	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: In Season Two, it bizarrely seems like everyone in town except Sofia knows about [[spoiler: her father's suicide.]]
90	* MeaningfulEcho: David Simon works in quite a few of the most famous lines from ''Series/TheWire''. Examples include Davis saying "and all the pieces matter" and Terry saying "the game is rigged" in Season 3.
91	* MoodDissonance: Exemplified in the opening titles; the upbeat song plays over images of people partying and enjoying New Orleans culture -- as well as harrowing images of the storm's destruction and the terrible aftermath, including a ton of artistically-rendered mold. The lyrics itself seem to drive the point home:
92	--->We're all goin' crazy / while jammin' and havin' fun!
93	* MoodWhiplash: It's in the blood of New Orleans that its inhabitants will always find the time to cheer up and celebrate during the direst circumstances, come hell or high water. Not being able to would be the biggest of the tragedies. [[TheFunInFuneral Second line funerals]] are a prominent example.
94	* MotorMouth: Davis.
95	* NWordPrivileges:
96	** Again, Davis. Or so he thinks, until he ends up getting the crap kicked out of him by someone who overheard him. Ironically, in the scene where he gets punched out for this he was quoting Antoine word for word rather than throw it around casually.
97	** Delmond is offended by New Yorkers saying the same negative things about New Orleans that he always does. "I get to say that. They don't!"
98	* NotWhatItLooksLike: Davis says this when Annie walks in on him sitting in a room with a shirtless Sofia passed out in front of him the morning after Mardi Gras. Seriously, it's not.
99	* ObstructiveBureaucrat:
100	** The people in charge of the various police departments ''really'' don't want to admit that they've potentially lost and/or are wrongfully incarcerating people thanks to the post-Katrina chaos. Toni even points out that they get more FEMA funds the more prisoners they house,so they're ''incentivized'' to bury her requests in red tape.
101	** The insurance people are a DownplayedTrope but aren't much better, denying coverage for Albert's home on the [[LoopholeAbuse grounds]] that he has insurance against ''hurricane'' damage but not ''flood'' damage.
102	* OnceASeason: A Mardi Grass episode, which needless to say it's some SeriousBusiness. The Creightons will loop Professor Longhair's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wAMr3V5lN4 Go to the Mardi Gras]].
103	* PersonaNonGrata: Davis is told to behave by a bartender, otherwise they'll put back again the sign "If your name is Davis [=McAlary=], please leave."
104	* PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy: '''Davis.'''
105	-->In my soul I'm a twenty-two-year-old thug from the Magnolia, twirling g-packs and [[GangstaRap cutting motherfuckers with my flow]]! I'm pure pale nastiness, so back off of me, [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch bitch]]!
106	* ProtestSong: Davis' "Shame, Shame, Shame", a HailToTheThief about UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush (with a jab or two at Barbara Bush as well).
107	* RealMenWearPink: Albert Lambreaux seems to command respect from the neighborood and isn't above beating two-bit hoods within an inch of their life. He also prances around in an ostentatiously garish feather costume every year.
108	-->'''[=LaDonna=]:''' You very handy, Mr. Lambreaux.
109	-->'''Albert:''' And pretty, too!
110	* RealityHasNoSubtitles: When Sonny ends up working on a Vietnamese fishing boat in season 2 and beyond, and the crew speaks Vietnamese (which he doesn't understand), it's never translated into English, unless it gets translated for him. Ditto with any of the other languages spoken on the show, like French.
111	* RealityIsUnrealistic: The commentary on the pilot has David Simon discussing how some locals criticized the show for a shot of the Superdome which showed an undamaged roof, despite the roof having been repaired by the time the show starts. This is because the repair in place at the time of the pilot was very temporary. Local viewers are recalling the much longer permanent fix that was done after the pilot.
112	* RecognitionFailure: Kermit mistakes Music/ElvisCostello for a music critic for the Times-Piyacune.
113	* RunningGag: Antoine never having cab fare.
114	* SceneryGorn: Plenty of beautifully filmed shots of damaged houses and piles of debris.
115	* SoundtrackDissonance: One ad had upbeat music while the camera panned over a devastated row of houses. Also, the opening titles themselves.
116	* ShoutOut:
117	** A friend of Sonny's mistakenly calls Amsterdam [[Series/TheWire "Hamsterdam."]]
118	** Annie stumbles upon an episode of ''Series/GenerationKill''. Doubles as a minor CelebrityParadox, as Cpl. Person is heard offscreen and is played by one of Janette's roommates.
119	* SilentCredits: It is included as a Finale Credits as a tribute to the musical and cultural community of New Orleans, and also one to writer/producer David Mills, who died on set late in production of Season 1.
120	* SmallNameBigEgo: Davis likes to pretend that he is really hip and a great musician when in reality he's just a DJ on a local radio station.
121	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Series/TheWire''. It keeps the show's general style and format (large ensemble cast, interweaving plotlines, etc.) but takes place in UsefulNotes/NewOrleans instead of Baltimore, and widens its scope beyond the world of crime and law enforcement.
122	* SupremeChef: Janette and her employees at the restaurant pull off some awesome looking FoodPorn on the regular.
123	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: In-universe. Annie's first attempt at songwriting accidentally rips off Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right."
124	* TurnInYourBadge: Subverted when [[spoiler: Terry Colson]] quits the NOPD by turning in his gun, badge and ID.
125	-->'''Desk cop:''' ...I just take your form and your badge. The rest of this shit goes to the gun range.
126	* VerbalBackspace: Davis meets Elvis Costello at a Kermit Ruffins concert, and tries to convince him that he taught Kermit everything he knows. When Elvis looks unimpressed, Davis adds "...about Keynesian economics", which earns him a laugh.
127	* ViceCity: Discussed by Lt. Terry Colson.
128	-->'''Terry:''' I've come to believe that there's a big difference between vice and sin. New Orleans gets it. The rest of the world... Well, vice... you know, vice, it's human. It's one drink too many. It's an illegal smile in a coat pocket. It's a bet on a wrong horse. It's a wrong prick rubbing against a wrong piece of ass. Sin is those bodies over in Central City, the ones that we just keep rolling up on and doing so goddamn little about.
129	* ViewersAreGeniuses: The show assumes a basic familiarity with New Orleans culture, or a capacity to pick up on things quickly after being thrown straight into the deep end, David Simon-style. Lesser viewers would be confused as to why [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_Indians African-Americans dance around in Indian costumes]] and why [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_funeral everyone locksteps during funerals]].
130	* WhamEpisode:
131	** "Wish Someone Would Care".
132	** "What is New Orleans?" is Season Two's.
133	* WhatExactlyIsHisJob: [[spoiler: Asked by Nelson's cousin to him in the Season 2 finale. See ArmorPiercingQuestion.]]

Context Series / Treme