NEWORLEANS- An HBO spokesman says David Mills, a co-writer and co-executive producer of the HBO series 'Treme,'has died in New Orleans.
Diego Aldano says Mills died Tuesday night, but he would not release further details on the cause of death, only saying that it appeared to be natural causes.
Mills, a former journalist,was an Emmy award-winning writer for 'The Wire,' 'The Corner' Homicide: Life on the Street,' 'and 'ER' among other shows.
'Treme,'the new HBOdrama, is set to premiere April 11. The series is set in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and is being filmed in the city.
One of Mills' last public appearances was Sunday, when he appeared, alongside 'Treme' co-creators and collaborators David Simon and Eric Overmeyer, on a panel discussion about the series, at the Tennessee Williams/NewOrleans Literary Festival.Local writers Tom Piazza and Lolis Eric Elie joined a discussion of the showand the creative process.
Mills said that NewOrleans is such a part of the series, that its storylines would not be easily translated to another setting.
'When you talk about 'The Wire,' it is very specific to Baltimore, yet if it wasn't about Baltimore, it would still exist as it is.Somewhere along the lineIasked what is this show ('Treme')about, and if it wasn't about NewOrleans, what would it be about?And it's hard to put into words,' Mills said Sunday.
He also commented on the large number of local actors, writers and crew members involved in the production, including at least 50musicians.
'There is so muchmusical performance in it, utterly differentfrom any series Ican imagine.More thanI imagined would be in the show all the while we were talkingabout it,'he said. 'Musicians playing musicians, playing themselves, musicians acting straight parts and playing different characters.'
HBO mourned Mills' passing in a statement.
'HBO is deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our dear friend and colleague David Mills,' said a network statement. 'He was a gracious and humble man, and will be sorely missed by those who knew and loved him, as well as those who were aware of his immense talent. David has left us too soon but his brilliant work will live on.'
