Treme: A primer for UK viewers (Guardian Guide)

Hey brah, where y’at? Takin’ that Abita in a go-cup to the second line in the Treme? David Simon’s new drama is peppered with Crescent City lingo and exotic traditions, so here’s a little local knowledge:

Davis McAlary:  Quixotic bohemian slacker musician (portrayed with uncanny accuracy by Steve Zahn) whose civic pride is so unswerving and relentless it makes him kind of a tool most of the time. Post-flood life does not suit his libertarian outlook. “I just want my city back!” he cries, before writing another song about strippers.

Go-cups: Most towns in the US would have you tried as an alcohol-crazed deviant for walking around with an adult booze drink, but in New Orleans, it’s borderline compulsory. Disposable, plastic go-cups keep you drunk between venues, and are available in any bar, restaurant and, for all I know, doctor’s waiting rooms and churches.

Hurricane Katrina: The brutally destructive weather system that hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August 2005. Just don’t call the subsequent flooding of the city a ‘natural disaster’. It was, as Creighton Bernette (the mighty John Goodman) bellows at a misinformed English TV journalist, “A manmade catastrophe of EPIC f*cking proportions!”

Kermit Ruffins: Charismatic trumpeter and one of several musicians playing themselves. Elvis Costello turns up to watch him play. Laid-back Kermit is oblivious to the networking opportunity, prompting an exasperated Davis to ask, “Is this all you want to do - get high, play trumpet and barbecue?” Kermit thinks. “That’ll work,” he nods.

Mardi Gras Indians: Mysterious tribes combining Afro-Caribbean and Native American customs. The tribes compete via the “prettiness” of their dances and costumes, usually outrageously huge, feathery creations. Intensely proud of their tradition, with revered ‘chiefs’, Treme’s being played by the compelling Clark Peters (Lester Freamon in The Wire).

OPP: Are you, as Naughty by Nature asked in 1991, ‘down’ with OPP? In Treme, this isn’t Other People’s Property but Orleans Parish Prison. The flooding brings bureaucratic chaos to the city’s legal and custodial systems, the worst fall-out of which provides one of the show’s most poignant storylines.

Second Line: Colourful, musical parades, so prevalent in New Orleans that you can barely cross the street for them. The only way to avoid being mown down in a flurry of brass and feathers is to join the festivities. It’s usually hard to work out whether it’s a community celebration, a wedding or someone’s funeral.

Treme: First of all, say it with me: Tr’MAY. Good. Historically an African-American neighbourhood and hotbed of musical talent. Davis believes that to live here is to subscribe to the romantic lowlife of the artist, berating neighbours for gentrification, just because they aren’t stoned and jamming with random trombonists 18 hours a day.

Vaughn’s Lounge: Neighbourhood jazz club where Kermit Ruffins and his band, famously blow the place up (musically) every Thursday night, when they also serve free barbecue. And red beans and rice. In fact, just being here on a Thursday night exposes you to almost every New Orleans reference you will ever need.

Wendell Pierce: Wire fans will know this New Orleanian native as Bunk Moreland, the instantly loveable but boozy detective with an eye for the ladies. In Treme, he plays Antoine Batiste, the instantly loveable but boozy trombone player with an eye for the ladies. He skips out on a lot more cab fares in Treme.

Where y’at?: Multi-use holler enquiring as to current location, activities you may be participating in and general state of health. Other exclamations include ‘True dat!’, a resignation to the facts of a situation and ‘Who dat?’, questioning which visiting sports teams have the temerity to suggest they may win against the locals.

Zapp’s: Louisianan brand of crisps with baffling names that, to outsiders, offer no clue as to their flavour. Care to guess at Spicy Cajun Crawtator or Cajun Dill Gatortators? Tick them off your local product placement spotter’s card, along with Barq’s Root Beer and Abita Amber, the local ale that’s drunk almost constantly.