The ‘best gangster series of all time’ with 95% rating ‘will never be bettered’, say fans (Image: Getty)
It’s been called the “undisputed champion” of all TV shows which “ushered in a new world of television” that we are still living in today.
Despite the thousands of TV series that have been created in the 18 years since this show’s final series ended in 2007, and the explosion of Netflix and countless other streaming services, there is a wide-ranging belief that not one of them has bettered this series.
It is rated 9.2 out of 10 on IMDB and 95% from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes, making it comfortably one of the best-rated shows in history. But when you narrow it down to specific series, some have a flawless 100% rating on the review aggregator site.
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It is listed at number one in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 best TV shows of all time, beating The Simpsons (number two), Breaking Bad (number three) and The Wire (number four). Yes, it’s that good.
It is also named as the best series of all time in multiple articles across the world, won a huge number of prestigious awards and has been credited with kick-starting “the second golden age of television”, so-called because of the sheer number of high quality, internationally-acclaimed TV series on offer between 2000 and the present day.
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano and Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano (Image: Getty)
Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti and Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva (Image: Getty)
I’m talking, of course, about The Sopranos, the HBO drama created by David Chase which debuted in 1999 and ran for 86 episodes over eight years, introducing the iconic anti-hero Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfini) to the world.
The Sopranos tells the story of mob boss Tony Soprano’s family and crime empire, as well as his sessions with his psychiatrist, Dr Melfi (played by Goodfellas star Lorraine Bracco).
All swirling in Tony’s complicated life are his wife Carmela (Edie Falco), children Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and Anthony Jr (Robert Iler) and his other relatives Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese), Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) and his mum, Livia (Nancy Marchand), all as dangerous as Tony himself.
Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante, James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano and Tony Sirico as Paulie Walnuts (Image: Getty)
His closest circle in his crime family is made up of Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt, who as well as being a central character in The Sopranos is also a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band) and Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Galtieri (played by Tony Sirico, who had a real-life background in serious crime).
The Sopranos has also been named as one of the most historically important series of all time, because it “shattered the narrative mold” and “basically reinvented the art of TV storytelling” while also creating the benchmark for leading characters like Breaking Bad’s Walter White.
Fans paid homage to the late James Gandolfini at the restaurant where its final scene was filmed (Image: Getty)
The Sopranos core cast
- Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini)
- Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco)
- Meadow Soprano (Jamie-Lynn Sigler)
- Anthony Jr Soprano (Robert Iler)
- Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco)
- Corrado ‘Junior’ Soprano (Dominic CHianese)
- Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand)
- Janice Soprano (Aida Turturro)
- Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli)
- Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo)
- Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt)
- Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Galtieri (Tony Sirico)
What critics and viewers say about The Sopranos
One common theme among critics is how The Sopranos makes you feel about the lead character, Tony. Robert Bianco, writing in USA Today, says: “What’s remarkable about [producer David] Chase’s work on Sopranos is his ability to maintain the show’s crucial duality: We don’t want Tony to be caught and punished, but we always know he should be.”
And Howard Rosenberg in the Los Angeles TImes says: “It’s their moral ambiguity that most grounds them in reality and makes them so fascinating that missing even one episode is unthinkable. Every move they make, every step they take, we’ll be watching them.”
Lorraine Bracco attends The Sopranos 25th anniversary celebration in 2024 in New York City (Image: Getty)
Jonathan Storm in the Philadelphia Enquirer says: “It goes beyond The Godfather because it’s punctuated with smiles, and set to a score that uses the music of big-name artists in an unusually creative way.”
Joe Queenan in The Guardian says: “Make no mistake: American television has never seen a dramatic series as consistently inventive and demented as The Sopranos.”
Viewers also love it, calling it “a masterpiece” that will “never be bettered”.
What awards did The Sopranos win?
The Sopranos won 21 Primetime Emmy Awards in 111 nominations and 5 Golden Globes in 23 nominations. Its actors, most notably James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, also won several individual awards.
How to watch The Sopranos
The Sopranos is streaming on Now TV and Amazon Prime Video. You can also get it on Apple TV, Google Play and Sky Store.