Season 1

Complete listed story — includes the ending

1. Do You Know What It Means?

Three months after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans neighborhood of Tremé holds its first "second-line parade" since the storm. Albert Lambreaux returns to his home to find it ravaged by the flood but begins cleaning up the damage instead of heeding his daughter's pleas to return to Houston. She calls her brother Delmond, who comes down to argue with their father but has no more success. A British television crew interviews Creighton Bernette, who becomes so outraged by their implication that the city isn't worth rebuilding that he throws their microphone into a canal. LaDonna Batiste-Williams finds out from a friend that her brother Daymo, who has been missing since the storm, was in police custody when Katrina hit the city; Toni Bernette is unable to find Daymo on official records of prisoners in custody but she does uncover two newspaper photographs that appear to show him among a group of prisoners being taken across the overpass.

2. Meet De Boys on the Battlefront

Davis McAlary is fired from his DJ job; instead of giving him a loan, his father gets him a new position at a local hotel. When Davis directs three young tourists to a bar in the Seventh Ward and they don't return, Davis is quickly fired. He runs into the kids two days later and they thank him for pointing them to "the real New Orleans". Albert tracks down a young man named Skinny, who stole Albert's tools, and beats him senseless. Albert struggles to reassemble his tribe but only one member is able to show up for practice. Janette Desautel requests a $25,000 loan from her visiting parents to keep her restaurant afloat; her father tells her he can only give her $6,000. Toni believes that she has located Daymo in a Louisiana prison but when she and LaDonna go to see him, the prisoner brought out to meet them is a stranger.

3. Right Place, Wrong Time

Toni bails out Davis who was jailed for mouthing off to a National Guard officer and in lieu of repayment he begins giving piano lessons to her daughter Sofia. Later, Davis is intrigued by the appearance of multiple attractive young women in his neighborhood and pens an ode to gentrification entitled "Strippers". Toni helps out Antoine Batiste, who is arrested and beaten after bumping a police car with his trombone and he beseeches her to force the police to return the instrument. Albert finds a teenage boy using his house to have sex with a girl and releases him with a warning; the next day, the boy's unsuspecting aunt asks if Albert can find a job for her nephew, Darius, while he's out of school. Creighton finds a video that Sofia has posted on a new website called YouTube in which she complains about having to go to boarding school in Baton Rouge while her New Orleans school is closed. Sonny buys Annie an expensive bottle of wine for her birthday but when Tom McDermott invites her to play with him at a charity benefit and Sonny becomes bored and irritated while waiting for her to finish, he goes home and drinks the wine. Albert discovers the body of one of his tribe members decomposing underneath a boat in the man's garage; he and several other Mardi Gras Indians provide a proper memorial.

4. At the Foot of Canal Street

Suffering from a mouth injury incurred during his run-in with the police, Antoine accepts LaDonna's request that he go to Baton Rouge, where her husband Larry performs dental work and Antoine has a rare visit with his sons. Darius is fired from the job Albert found him with his neighbor Robinette's hauling company; later, Darius stumbles on Albert's tribe's Mardi Gras practice. When his aunt discovers him there late that evening, she invites Albert to dinner. Davis' car is crippled by a pothole left by a utility company; when he comes back to retrieve it, he sees the car has been ransacked. Davis is inspired to run for public office on a campaign platform of raising money for city improvements through legalizing and taxing marijuana ("Pot for potholes!"). Creighton films a YouTube video, responding to those who have questioned whether New Orleans is worth saving and signs off with, "Fuck you, you fucking fucks". He is later recognized around town by many admirers of his rant. Delmond's manager convinces him to play a New Orleans-focused tour, despite Delmond's reluctance. Toni finally gets official DNA test results that prove the prisoner using the name Daymo Brooks is not Daymo but an accused murderer named Keevon White. Off-the-record, Keevon admits to switching bracelets with Daymo after the storm, claiming that Daymo agreed to swap in exchange for Keevon's protection in jail but says he doesn’t know where Daymo went after that. Toni has been unsuccessful in finding Antoine's confiscated trombone. Sonny's friends convince him to come to Houston to play at a roadhouse and he makes Annie promise not to play with any other pianists while he's gone. The roadhouse gig goes badly for Sonny, although he convinces the bar's bouncer, who has never seen New Orleans, to come back with them. Sonny returns to find Annie sitting in with the New Orleans Jazz Vipers.

5. Shame, Shame, Shame

The roadhouse bouncer, Arnie, is staying with Annie and Sonny and confirms Annie's suspicions that Sonny bought drugs while in Houston. Still searching for Antoine's trombone, Toni gives him a connection to a group of wealthy Japanese jazz fans seeking to help New Orleans musicians. One of these fans comes to meet Antoine, buys him a brand-new trombone and gives him a wad of cash. Antoine then discovers his own instrument in a pawn shop. When Toni confronts the police lieutenant about his officers' having pawned Antoine’s trombone, he tells her about the huge issues he's facing with officer morale and says he can’t get upset about a trombone. Albert presses a city council member, Ron Singleton, about why the projects have been closed since Katrina despite incurring no serious damage but Singleton says that reopening the projects isn't up to him. Davis enlists an all-star roster of local musicians to play for free on a recording of his anti-government anthem, "Shame, Shame, Shame". Creighton records another angry YouTube rant but brushes off a query from Toni about getting back to work on his novel, saying he has to focus on planning the upcoming Krewe du Vieux parade for Carnival. Working to prove to the courts that Daymo was in police custody during the storm, Toni discovers that he had been working at Janette's restaurant, Desautel's. Janette tells her that she talked to Daymo the morning Katrina hit but hasn’t heard from him since. A group of celebrity chefs pays an unannounced visit to Desautel's and are much impressed by what Janette offers them. In the midst of another joyful second line, shots ring out and Arnie grabs Annie and shepherds her to safety, leaving Sonny behind; Sonny, fearing that Arnie is moving in on his girl, ejects him from their home.

6. Shallow Water, Oh Mama

Creighton’s agent comes to New Orleans to tell Creighton that his publisher still wants the novel about the 1927 flood but she asks if he can include content about Katrina as well; he says he'll deliver the originally planned manuscript. Davis’ political campaign continues in full swing, as he sells CDs of his campaign song and appears on a local TV station's candidates forum. As the suppliers for Janette's restaurant become more demanding, she makes the hard decision to suspend operations indefinitely. LaDonna's mother is hospitalized for breathing problems. In the midst of arguing about whether Annie should accept a solo gig Sonny strikes her and she flees their home; they later reconcile despite Annie's misgivings about his drug use. An aide from Councilman Singleton's office comes to see Albert but instead of bringing news about reopening the projects, all he has to offer is a single FEMA trailer, prompting Albert to throw him out. Toni tracks down the former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer who arrested Daymo for an outstanding warrant on the day Katrina hit; in his abandoned police car, she is thrilled to find the citation that proves Daymo was arrested that day. When she meets with the Assistant District Attorney to request a joint motion for an emergency hearing to locate Daymo in the prison system, the ADA tells her they have a new policy against filing joint motions on emergency hearings. A disillusioned Toni joins her husband and daughter in marching, dressed as Nagin's sperm, in the riotously anti-government Krewe du Vieux parade.

7. Smoke My Peace Pipe

Having finally proven that the NOPD had Daymo in custody during the storm, Toni wins a court motion giving the Department of Corrections 72 hours to locate him among their prisoners. Davis' campaign for office is going well enough that a political strategist visits him to encourage him to focus the media's attention on key issues; instead, Davis decides to drop out of the race in exchange for a "Get Out of Jail Free" card from a judge who's backing another candidate. Creighton fails to resume work on his novel and ultimately drafts and films a new YouTube rant about "Katrina fatigue". Janette sells her restaurant equipment and buys a mobile grill that will allow her to cook anywhere. After Davis finds out that she's closed Desautel's, he helps her serve food at an outdoor festival. Albert takes up residence inside the Calliope Projects, hoping the publicity from his arrest will pressure the government into reopening the buildings. When the police come for him, he refuses to kneel to be handcuffed and is viciously beaten for resisting arrest. Annie tries out to join the Pine Leaf Boys on a Canadian tour but chokes at the audition; her fellow musician Harley Watt suspects the problem is her anguish about Sonny. Antoine's friend and mentor Danny passes away in the hospital. After searching through records of prisoners without finding Daymo, Toni and LaDonna eventually discover his body, under a different name, at the government's makeshift morgue. LaDonna refuses to break the news to her mother or to start making funeral arrangements until after Carnival.

8. All on a Mardi Gras Day

LaDonna continues to keep her silence over Daymo’s death, which leads her mother to opt out of celebrating Mardi Gras, hopeful that Daymo will be able to join them next year. Albert's hearing is delayed, preventing him from participating in Mardi Gras festivities. Creighton waxes nostalgic about previous parades. All the show's characters enjoy Mardi Gras with the exception of Creighton, whose depression causes him to return home. Sonny goes off by himself and ends up having sex with a woman who hears of his heroic exploits. Annie meets Davis and spends the evening with him. Delmond spots a group of Mardi Gras Indians dancing, raising his spirits. Antoine and LaDonna have a romantic encounter in LaDonna’s bar, causing them to miss having dinner with their loved ones. After serving food throughout the day, Janette spends the evening wandering the streets while drunk. Creighton films an extremely negative YouTube video insinuating that his beloved city and beloved festival have plunged into vulgarity and banality and will probably never return to their past greatness. Deeply melancholic, Creighton goes out on his porch, drinks heavily and passes out, much to the shock of his wife, who finds him the following morning. Delmond bails Albert out of jail. LaDonna begins to make funeral arrangements.

9. Wish Someone Would Care

Annie tells Sonny she wishes to perform with other musicians and criticizes his behavior, leading Sonny to break up with her. Annie makes temporary living arrangements with a friend. Sonny later calls and asks to meet over coffee. As Albert prepares for Saint Joseph's Day, he is warned by the police not to incite violence. He finds that increased security has been placed on the Calliope projects. Janette organizes a big event at Bacchanal and pays musicians to perform while she provides food. The event is rained out and Janette returns home to find her ceiling leaking. Toni wants an independent autopsy for Daymo but LaDonna refuses to consider one. After learning that LaDonna’s family crypt needs repairs, Antoine offers money to help with the payment, which she accepts. She says that their sexual encounter during Mardi Gras will not lead anywhere. LaDonna is later forced to ask her husband for money. Davis throws a release party for his record and invites Annie. Although she is unable to attend, he tells her that she is welcome anytime. After spending the night with Davis, a defeated Janette announces her plans to move to New York. Creighton assigns The Awakening to his class and speaks of endings and transitions. With a much cheerier disposition, he compliments his wife and daughter, generously tips Annie as she performs and throws himself from the bow of a ferry, killing himself.

10. I'll Fly Away

Davis returns to his old job as a DJ to fund his full-length CD project. Creighton’s body is found and Toni refuses to honor his wishes for a second line at his funeral. Sonny asks Annie to return to their apartment. Annie repeats her wish to play with other people, causing Sonny to leave and continue to self-destruct. Davis prepares a day to convince Janette to stay in New Orleans but she remains unconvinced and moves to New York. In a poker game, Antoine loses most of the money earned from his latest gig. Albert’s Indian tribe almost has a confrontation with the police but the situation is settled by a community relations officer. Afterwards, Delmond returns to New York. LaDonna still refuses to consider an independent autopsy for Daymo. Annie asks Davis if she can move in with him. Daymo’s funeral is held, while flashbacks show his and other characters' activities on the day of the hurricane.