David Simon's next project has a trailer

It's David Simon. Creator of "The Wire." Respect the title.

Because we haven't mentioned it on Channel Surfing before, "Treme" (Tra-MAY) is Simon's new HBO drama set against the unique New Orleans backdrop of second-line parades, brass bands and Mardi Gras Indians. According to NOLA.com (which has covered the series development extensively), the show is bringing with it "tens of millions of dollars in spending, dozens of jobs and national exposure for the city's music and culture." "Treme" will debut in April.

The series' first-season story begins several weeks after Hurricane Katrina and follows its characters -- based on real-life models Kermit Ruffins, Donald Harrison Jr. and Davis Rogan, among others -- at least through the first Mardi Gras after Katrina. Each subsequent season of the series advances the story one year further from the storm.

Cast members include John Goodman, Wendell Pierce (Bunk from "The Wire"), Clarke Peters (Lester Freamon from "The Wire"), Khandi Alexander ("The Corner") and Steve Zahn ("That Thing You Do!"). Elvis Costello is also said to have an early cameo.

At the National Press Club luncheon last year, Simon said of "Treme":

"It's not a crime show. It's about people trying to find their way home and reconstitute their lives in a city that was very ill-treated in the wake of the storm, and I don't just mean the immediate wake, but in all the years that have followed. The national response to what has gone on in New Orleans is an embarrassment."

Boy, I wish I could afford HBO again ...

-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com