The Sopranos – The Best TV Series That Came Out of New Jersey

The Sopranos needs no introduction. The show has won 21 Primetime Emmy Awards (111 nominations) and 5 Golden Globes (23 nominations). The HBO crime drama ran for eight years and became a cultural staple for its home state of New Jersey, and for the world as a whole.

Fans of the show still frequent the NJ filming locations such as the Sopranos’ house in North Caldwell, the Holsten’s diner in Bloomfield, and the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City. If you’re chasing it like Tony but you’re far from Atlantic City, you can also check out some of the best NJ online casinos.

In this article, we will tell you what we believe made The Sopranos such a phenomenon. Let us warn you that there will be some mild spoilers for the show.

Tony: A Mobster Born Too Late

Tony Soprano kickstarted the era of the anti-hero protagonist, inspiring characters like Walter White, Don Draper, and even the animated Rick Sanchez.

Our introduction of him is quite unique. We expect to see a poker-face mobster like Michael Corleone but instead we see a man who suffers from panic attacks and reaches to a therapist for help. In the very next scene, however, we see Tony gleefully trying to run over a man with his car.

This dichotomy is what defines the character of Tony. He can be sweet and empathetic one moment (think his interactions with Meadow or Tracy) and ruthless the other (Coco’s “dentist appointment”). We’re asked the question of whether he is capable of change and the answer depends on your interpretation.

At the same time, we are drawn not only to Tony’s positive qualities, but also to his darkest actions and desires. This makes the viewer confront their own moral compass which is as compelling as they go. If you want to read more about this type of dark TV character and the revolution The Sopranos kickstarted, you can read the book Difficult Men by Brett Martin.

The Lost Bling

Another interesting aspect of Tony Sopranos’ character, and the show in general, is the intentional anti-glamourization of the mafia. Tony, in his underwear and bathrobe, is a far call from the Coppola or Scorsese mafiosos with tailored suits.

Tony would often say that he was born too late, that ‘this thing of ours’ (or “Cosa Nostra” in Italian) has changed for the worse, lost its sparkle.

The nostalgia for times long lost is one of the show’s recurring motifs. Tony is always watching black-and-white documentaries, his crew is discussing famous mafiosos and mob films, and in a very poignant moment, they can’t play the VHS of The Godfather, symbolizing the disconnect between the glamourized fiction and the bleak reality.

This lack of mafia bling and the desire to go back work in two ways: Tony and the viewer are asked to confront the dark underbelly of the mafia, while also confronting their own interiority, their psyche (Tony through his sessions with Dr Melfi and the viewer through the act of watching the show).

A Worldwide Phenomenon

The Sopranos thus creates a very compelling and layered narrative that time and time again proves to stand the test of times. There is renewed interest in the show, especially for Gen Z viewers who were too young to watch it when it came out.

Two of the actors from The Sopranos, Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, even recently wrote a book (The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos: Woke Up This Morning, 2021) about their experience on the show and their interpretation of some of the most iconic episodes. They also have a podcast, The Talking Sopranos, where they interview other Sopranos actors and screenwriters.

It’s no wonder then that fans of the TV show are even more active lately. The Sopranos has a cult following and the state of New Jersey greatly profits off it. There are numerous tours that take you to famous film locations from the show, as we mentioned earlier.

We recommend visiting as many of these places as possible because the feeling is amazing. Still, please don’t go in your bath robes in front of Tony’s house, the neighbors are kind of done with that thing and so are the owners of the iconic house.

Thoughts

So, what do you think? Do you agree with us on the question of what makes The Sopranos such a special and enduring show? Let us know and in the meantime, read another one of our articles about hit TV shows.