It's a rare feat for a television producer, director, writer, or creator to have a series of hits that are not just big with fans, but are huge with critics.
After all, pleasing everyone all of the time is supposed to be impossible, and if you are working with nonfiction material as the basis for a show, it's supposed to be even more difficult.
After all, you're doing even more than just telling a story.
You are telling someone very specific, someone very real's, story, and sometimes that can lead to a bit of trouble down the road if those who are being portrayed are less than thrilled with how history is going to remember them thanks to popular culture.
Thankfully, the man behind such incredible hits as "The Wire," "The Corner," and "Generation Kill" knows good source material when he sees it, as he's been bringing the best in nonfiction writing to satellite TV ever since he started his career over at "Homicide: Life on the Streets.
" And whether it's been embedded time with Marines on the front lines of Iraq or simply dealing with the multifaceted complications of the Baltimore police department, the story is always something compelling, something bleak, but something very human.
Even the angriest of cops or dignitaries on these sorts of shows manages to have some sort of heart, and you find yourself constantly surprised by how much you can actually manage to relate to some very different sorts of people.
That's the really rare and new thing about "Treme," though.
It's relatable, but not as bleak.
Though based on a true story, and a very devastating one, "Treme" spends more of its time focusing on the people rather than the politics.
And because the people in question have that incredible optimistic and laid-back attitude that only someone from New Orleans can quite manage, then you don't feel as devastated watching the show, which is set in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Instead of talking about the troubles of the levees, the corrupt government, and all of the more obvious issues that might warrant a Spike Lee documentary but not a show to tune into on HDTV each week, "Treme" goes a different route.
It brings you a number of different stories--young white jazz musicians, devastated older African-Americans returning to their destroyed homes, popular African-American musicians--but doesn't harp as much on the truly gritty details.
In fact, compared to shows like "The Corner," "Treme" could almost be seen as optimistic.
In a season of HBO programming where there were numerous standouts and countless critical praise pointed towards the premium network, it would be difficult to downplay the influence that this channel has on the current state of satellite tv programming.
And yet when something like "Treme" comes along, it appears that everything HBO is doing right is not rocket science: it's knowing something great and making sure you don't let go of it.
With fabulous and acclaimed actors who have been working on some of HBO's best series for years alongside actual prominent New Orleans jazz musicians and guest-starring musical guests, there is a formula for success in terms of performances right away.
Add to that a script based on a rich and well-composed nonfiction book, and you are pretty much promised a successful run on satellite tv.
There's definitely no reason to complicate this at all, and that's why HBO knows it has a hit on its hands.
But more than just making that sort of impact on critics and audiences in terms of the storytelling formula, "Treme" is doing something truly important.
It's telling the story of a place in our very own country where something very terrible happened, and efforts began to improve things.
But in the midst of everything else happening in the world, those improvements might have gotten waylaid, and some Americans might have forgotten what all went down in the first place.
And with a show like this, based in facts and well-developed into fiction, you might have a crucial piece of information for educating Americans about their very own country, even if it's just learning a bit about the rich history of jazz music.