“Something is dying”: Sopranos Director Says the 25th Anniversary of the Show Marks the Funeral of TV Industry
HBO’s The Sopranos is a crime drama television series created by David Chase that revolves around the life of Tony Soprano; an Italian-American mobster. The series goes on to showcase how Tony Soprano struggles to keep a balance between his personal and professional life. The show premiered in 1999 and concluded with its sixth and final season in 2007.
The show has been regarded as one of the greatest and most influential shows of all time and was called a landmark for the Second Golden Age of Television. Back in 2013, the WGA named David Chase’s The Sopranos as the best-written TV show of all time. This is why it still has its influence on the people. Creator David Chase, however, feels that with the show reaching its 25th year, it is more a funeral than a celebration. Let’s find out what Chase had to say.
The Sopranos’ creator David Chase notes TV is dumbing down
The creator of HBO’s mob series The Sopranos; David Chase, in a conversation with The Times U.K., on the occasion of the series completing 25th years, notes that it’s more like a funeral. He said,
“Yes, this is the 25th anniversary, so of course it’s a celebration. But perhaps we shouldn’t look at it like that. Maybe we should look at it like a funeral. We’re going back to where I was. They’re going to have commercials. And I’ve already been told to dumb it down.”
The creator adds that the two-decade-plus period that began with The Sopranos is a 25-year-blip. He adds,
“And to be clear, I am not talking only about The Sopranos, but a lot of other hugely talented people out there who I feel increasingly bad for. We are more into multitasking. We seem to be confused and audience can’t keep their minds on things, so we can’t make anything that makes too much sense, takes our attention and requires an audience to focus.”
David Chase noted that the anniversary of his successful and popular show that went on to break not only records but also the way a show is created is not the celebration they expected it to be. He said;
“It’s a funeral. Something is dying.”
HBO launched a TikTok account for the show, which features 25-second recaps of all 86 episodes to celebrate the 25th year of the show. The show featured actors including James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco, Drea de Matteo, Tony Sirico, and more.
The Sopranos’ creator talks about his experience of working on networks
David Chase, who has always been appreciated for his contribution to the entertainment industry, especially with The Sopranos, says in his interview with The Times,
“Back then the networks were in an artistic pit. A sh**hole. The process was repulsive. In meetings, these people would always ask to take out the one thing that made an episode worth doing. I should have quit.”
This was before HBO gave The Sopranos a green sign, and everything changed for Chase. With the success of The Sopranos, Chase mentions that he made the networks regret all their decisions of stupidity and greed. However, the creator-director of the show does take some sense of pride in the legacy he created with the show as he lastly added,
“Still, it’s been gratifying to see people hold an interest. How could that be anything but pleasing to the ego, to your place in the human race?”
The Sopranos was turned down by Fox before David Chase pitched it to HBO. All episodes of The Sopranos are streaming on Max.
