Tremé, a neighborhood of New Orleans.
It begins three months after
Hurricane Katrina as the residents, including musicians, chefs,
Mardi Gras Indians
Mardi Gras Indians (also known as Black Masking Indians) are black carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel.
Collectively, their organizations are called ...
, and other New Orleanians, try to rebuild their lives, their homes, and their unique culture in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane and the subsequent severe flooding of the city.
It received generally favorable reception, particularly for its performances by the cast and musical performers, as well as for its realistic portrayal of New Orleans culture.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main
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Khandi Alexander as LaDonna Batiste-Williams — She owns and runs a
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
in New Orleans. She was formerly married to Antoine, with whom she has two sons. She commutes between New Orleans and
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of countie ...
, where she lives with her sons and her current husband, Larry Williams (
Lance E. Nichols
Lance E. Nichols (born July 13, 1955) is an American actor best known for playing dentist Larry Williams on '' Treme''.
Early life and education
A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Nichols graduated from McDonogh 35 College Preparatory Charte ...
), a dentist. She is pressured by her husband to move to Baton Rouge, as she has no ties to New Orleans anymore. She previously took care of her elderly mother, who refused to leave the city when they were trying to locate LaDonna's younger brother David Maurice (Daymo), who went missing during the storm.
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Rob Brown as Delmond Lambreaux – The son of Albert, an accomplished trumpet player. He finds himself drawn more to the music and atmosphere of New York City than New Orleans. Delmond's character is based on jazz innovator Donald Harrison Jr., whom Simon and Overmyer brought in to consult for the series.
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Kim Dickens as Janette Desautel – A struggling chef trying to keep her restaurant open while waiting for insurance to pay for her losses in the storm. Davis and she maintain a casual but tumultuous relationship.
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John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, a ...
as Creighton Bernette (season 1, guest star season 2) – Toni's husband, an English professor at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...
. He is working on a novel about the
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with inundated in depths of up to over the course of several months in early 1927. The uninflated cost of the damage has been estimate ...
and is a passionate promoter of the city's culture. His character is drawn from the real-life New Orleans blogger,
Ashley Morris.
*
Michiel Huisman
Michiel Huisman (; born 18 July 1981) is a Dutch actor who has acted in both Dutch and English-language TV series and films.
Huisman began his career in the Dutch soap opera '' Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (1998). He later played in the Dut ...
as Sonny – A street musician from
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, he met Annie while she was
backpacking in Europe. His drug use causes problems for both their professional and personal relationships.
*
Melissa Leo as Antoinette "Toni" Bernette – A civil rights lawyer, she works with LaDonna in trying to locate her missing brother. She defends musicians and people abused by the justice system in the city. She is relentless in her investigation of
NOPD corruption, which puts both her and her daughter's life at risk.
*
Lucia Micarelli as Annie Talarico – A classically trained
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist, she plays music on the streets of the
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old S ...
with her boyfriend Sonny, working for tips.
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Clarke Peters as Albert "Big Chief" Lambreaux – A
Mardi Gras Indian chief, he is well respected in his community. Having returned to his home to find it severely damaged, he moves into the neighborhood bar where his tribe practices. He is repairing it while working to bring the other members of his tribe, as well as his son Delmond, back to the city.
*
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles both on the stage and screen. He first gained notoriety port ...
as Antoine Batiste – A
trombonist
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
, constantly hunting for his next gig, Antoine lives with the mother of his youngest child. He rarely sees his two sons he shares with his ex-wife LaDonna, in part because he has no car since the storm and must rely on cabs and public transportation. He is the frontman for his band, Antoine Batiste and his Soul Apostles, and has a part-time job as an assistant music instructor at a local middle school.
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Steve Zahn
Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include '' Reality Bites'' (1994), '' That Thing You Do!'' (1996), '' Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken ...
as Davis McAlary – A volunteer DJ on local radio station
WWOZ-FM and musician, Davis is from an Uptown family, but now lives in Tremé, he is a passionate lover of New Orleans and its culture. He is constantly seeking to incite social outrage against perceived injustices.
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India Ennenga as Sofia Bernette (seasons 2–4, recurring season 1) – Toni and Creighton's teenage daughter. In season three, she is repeatedly targeted by the NOPD in an effort to dissuade her mother from investigating police corruption in New Orleans.
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David Morse
David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film c ...
as Terry Colson (seasons 2–4, recurring season 1) – An honest police officer working as a shift lieutenant for the NOPD, he is a friend of Toni Bernette. He secretly works with the
FBI in investigating his city's police corruption.
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Jon Seda as Nelson Hidalgo (seasons 2–4) – A politically connected developer and venture capitalist from Dallas, he becomes involved in the renewal efforts in post-Katrina New Orleans.
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Chris Coy as L.P. Everett (seasons 3–4) – A young reporter for ''
ProPublica
ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010 ...
'' new to New Orleans, he is investigating the various crimes that happened during Hurricane Katrina. The character is based on real-life reporter
A. C. Thompson
Adam Clay "A.C." Thompson (born c.1972 Robinson, Eugene S."THE PUNK ROCK JOURNALIST MAKING REAL NEWS AT THE SOURCE" ''ozy.com'', OCTOBER 31, 2017) is an investigative journalist and staff reporter with ''ProPublica''. His work has appeared on the ...
.
Recurring
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Lance E. Nichols
Lance E. Nichols (born July 13, 1955) is an American actor best known for playing dentist Larry Williams on '' Treme''.
Early life and education
A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Nichols graduated from McDonogh 35 College Preparatory Charte ...
as Larry Williams – LaDonna's husband and a dentist based in Baton Rouge. He strongly urges LaDonna to sell her bar and mother's house in New Orleans, so she can live full-time with her sons and him.
* Phyllis Montana LeBlanc as Desiree – Antoine's strong-minded girlfriend and mother of his youngest child. She fights against
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
.
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