2nd Season of HBO's "TREME" Gets The Greenlight

HBO will produce a second season of "Treme," the musical drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans that debuted Sunday, April 11. Co-created by David Simon ("The Wire," "Generation Kill") and Eric Overmyer ("St. Elsewhere," "The Wire"), the series won mostly glowing reviews and launched to 1.1 million viewers, a respectable but not spectacular audience for HBO. By comparison, the 2008 HBO premiere of "True Blood" drew 1.44 million viewers.

"True Blood" eventually grew into a substantial draw for the network, averaging about 5 million viewers per episode by the end of its second season.

"I can't think of another show that is more emblematic of what we aspire to be as a network than 'Treme,'" said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO programming, in a statement released by the network. "In the tradition of 'The Wire,' David Simon and Eric Overmyer have embarked on an exploration of the soul of one of the world's most unique cities through the lives of an exquisitely crafted cast of characters. We are thrilled that the press has recognized the profound artistry and intelligence of this show and are eager to see where David and Eric take us in a second season. "Simon announced the renewal to the "Treme" cast and crew Tuesday afternoon at the Uptown home serving as the residence of the show's Creighton and Toni Bernette characters, played by John Goodman and Melissa Leo. Production activity at that location has irked some in the neighborhood, but the "Treme" renewal is good news for the city's burgeoning TV-and-film industry overall.

"We want to thank everybody who made this show a success, especially the community, which has supported the production," said Jennifer Day, director of the New Orleans Office of Film & Video. "This is going to be a very important project for New Orleans."

Day said her office has not yet compiled economic-impact data for "Treme's" first season, production on which will continue in New Orleans through April. But according to Joseph Incaprera, the show's line producer, "Treme" is expected to spend $30 million in New Orleans during the production of its first season.

Filming for season two will begin after hurricane season. Those episodes likely will air in spring 2011 and rejoin the show's story timeline -- which started three months after Katrina in Sunday's premiere episode and will run into late spring 2006 through the first season's 10 episodes -- some time in fall 2006. An episode order for season two wasn't included in HBO's renewal announcement.

HBO executives tried to reach Simon on Monday -- before the Tuesday release of the premiere ratings -- to inform him about the renewal, but he was attending the Washington, D.C.,-area funeral of David Mills, the "Treme" co-executive producer who died March 30.

"This is one of my favorite moments working for HBO," Simon said Tuesday. "They tried to get in touch with us last night to tell us, even before the (ratings) number was released, which is pretty cool."

Hailed by critics and ignored by Emmy Award voters, "The Wire" barely built a viable audience on HBO. It became a cult hit only during its DVD afterlife.

A former Baltimore newspaper crime reporter, Simon launched his TV career on "Homicide: Life on the Street," an NBC drama adapted from a Simon book. It, too, struggled for ratings sustainability.