'Treme' Creator David Simon Reacts to Michael Showers' Mysterious New Orleans Death

As we reported this morning, the body of 45 year old 'Treme' actor Michael Showers was found on Wednesday floating in the Mississipi, in a scene that might as well have been written by the show's creator David Simon.

Showers was found floating in the water by a steamboat captain, and the actor had apparently been in the water for two days after being reported missing by his girlfriend.

Simon spoke to the New Orleans Times-Picayune about Showers and his tragic death.

“He did very well with what we gave him. We did not want him to be a complete mustache-twirler in the sense of complete villain, but we wanted him to be very institutional and very resistant to an outside critique, which I think is typical of all institutions and I think very typical of the NOPD at that particular time in its history," Simon told the paper.

Showers had appeared in the last four episodes of "Treme" as New Orleans Police Department Captain Guidry, a corrupt and incompetent cop who frequently clashed with David Morse's Lieutenant Terry Colson.

Strangely enough, Showers' character was investigating the real life unsolved murder of Helen Hill, a young filmmaker who was shot and murdered during the chaos of Hurricane Katrina.

"He was representing an institution that was sitting on top of an awful lot of dysfunction, and we represented that. At the same time, we didn’t want him to be an over-the-top villain, or for you to be assured as viewers that he was in any way complicit in whatever had gone wrong with those institutions. I think he landed it about where he should land it. But all of this seems absurdly unimportant … now that this has happened. I feel like I’m talking about things of very little consequence in the grand scheme of things," said "Treme" creator Simon.

Other cast members have also reacted to the tragic news of Showers' death.

Late last night, 'Treme' star Wendell Pierce tweeted: "Rest In Peace to my costar Michael Showers. 'Capt Guidry' on Treme. He will be a lasting part of our New Orleans story and television history."

HBO also released a formal statement on the death of Showers, who was expected to be a part of the upcoming third season of the show.

"Michael Showers was a fine actor who contributed his talents to our drama in the warmest and most professional way. We enjoyed his work -- and working with him. Going forward, we're going to miss having him as part of our production. All of which seems of little import in light of the loss of a man's whole life, and what that loss truly means to him, his family, his friends. Our respect and condolences go to them, especially."