It’s no secret that we’re insanely curious to see David Simon’s upcoming series about post-Katrina New Orleans, Treme. Not only is the show his first official follow-up to his inimitable Baltimore-based series, The Wire, but it’s also shaping up to be the most musical dramatic television show in recent memory, with cameos by the likes of Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Galactic, Allen Toussaint, and many more already booked.

But that’s not all: In a recent Q&A with the Guardian’s Andrew Anthony, Simon discussed how music is used to illuminate Treme’s key themes about American urban culture, and dropped this brilliant quote:

MTV may have abandoned actual music programming in favor of reality shows featuring seven twits running amok on the Jersey Shore, but fear not: David Simon, creator of The Wire (a.k.a. one of the best television shows of at least the last decade) is filling that musical gap with new series Treme.

Treme (that’s trem-AY without the accent aigu) is Simon’s third HBO effort about ten people, including a few jazz musicians, living in NOLA after Hurricane Katrina. That would make it musically interesting enough, but check out these deets from Flavorwire’s recent roundup: Musical guests include Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Steve Earle (who played Walon on The Wire), Allen Toussaint, Kermit Ruffins, Galactic and others; “the major theme is rebuilding, but [the show] will also deal with issues like education and crime as the show progresses.” These should be familiar themes for Simon. Not to mention John Goodman and The Wire alum Wendell Pierce (Det. Bunk) are among the cast. Interesting side note: Goodman currently lives in Trent Reznor’s former New Orleans home/studio.

Pierce, who plays musician Antoine Batiste, explained Simon’s delicate rendering of post-Katrina New Orleans (via TV Squad):