Slightly belatedly just getting to the end of Treme, with it’s 4th season.

For anyone not familiar it is a drama by The Wire team about a disparate group of characters trying to put their lives together in post-Katrina New Orleans. Haven’t seen it discussed too much here but there is much to recommend it.

1. The music – I never seen a drama that included so much music – possibly a third of each show includes live New Orleans bands, and it is often in the background of other scenes. I have discovered quite a lot through the show and ther are also accompanying cds, plus websites where they namececk every song in each episode – it’s a real treasure trove.

2. The setting – different, contemporary and familiar but somehow slightly exotic

3. The subject – it’s not crime, fantasy etc but about the real drama in these peoples lives across the social spectrum. It can be a bit slow and a bit preachy but the writing and the tunes pulls it through.

4. The characters – well drawn and believable (ish, once again occassionally “really??”)

5. The acting – strong across the board (apart from DJ » Continue Reading.