The Sopranos was a classical American television drama series that premiered on the premium cable network HBO on 10th January 1999. The series clipped the American popular culture of the 2000’s and became a subject of fun, controversy as well as analysis during its nearly eight year long run. The series was created by David Chase who was also the executive producer along with Brad Grey, Ilene S. Landress, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, Terence Winter and Matthew Weiner. The series was aired for six seasons and had a total of eighty six episodes across all the seasons.

The series revolves around Tony Soprano who is a Mafia Capo and has been managing a deadly criminal enterprise for most of his adult life. His stress at work and home has taken a toll on him and now he reluctantly seeks a psychiatrist’s help after blacking out. He has to cope with a shaky marriage to his long-suffering but dutiful wife, a rebellious teenage daughter and a sullen teenage son. In addition he tries to convince his mean-spirited mother to move into a retirement home while his aging Uncle Junior is jealous of his rise to the top and plans to kill him. Besides he has to keep tabs on his hot-headed nephew and his not-too-secret mistress. With the feds armed with RICO closing in on him Tony has a lot to talk about to his shrink Dr. Jennifer Melfi.

The series chronicles the events in Tony’s life as he is at work, at home and during his therapy sessions. He has to come to terms with his fear of death and losing his family while learning from his father’s example and mother’s manipulations. This aggressive, adult drama series which has abundantly used adult language and extreme voilence also boasts of some lighter moments. The series addressed numerous psychological, philosophical, social and political issues as Tony tries to confront the difficulties in his life while at the same time balancing the often conflicting requirements of home and the organization he heads.

Sopranos was one of the rare shows that became a major success both commercially and critically. The series was often described by the critics as one of the greatest television series of all time. The immense success of the series can be ascertained from the fact that it was nominated for at least 211 different awards including eighteen Golden Globes and ninety Emmy Awards. It also won 82 awards which include five Golden Globe and twenty one Emmy Awards. The series has also been made into a book, a video game and even high-charting soundtrack albums besides having numerous forms of merchandise.