A QUARTER OF A CENTURY SINCE IT BEGAN, AND 17 YEARS SINCE IT CUT TO BLACK, THE SOPRANOS IS STILL THE GREATEST (TV) SHOW ON EARTH. TO CELEBRATE ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY IN STYLE, WE REUNITE CREATOR DAVID CHASE AND THREE KEY STARS FOR AN EMOTIONAL TALK ABOUT LOSS, LEGACY AND, OF COURSE, HOMICIDE
In the Bada Bing, they’d have called it a ‘sit-down’ —a term used by Mob-land mercenaries to describe rare meetings between formidable figures from the Mafia landscape. Meetings where people could say what needed to be said, and say it with gusto. Like when Johnny Sack assembled the families, pleading for permission to whack Ralph Cifaretto. Or when Tony Blundetto killed Phil Leotardo’s brother, Billy, putting the DiMeo and Lupertazzi crime families on the brink of war. Or when a certain duck-loving, therapy-attending gangster survived an assassination attempt by his own uncle, and carnage beckoned…
Today’s virtual sit-down, however, is different. When four of the principle players from what many regard to be the greatest TV show of all time, The Sopranos, arrive at their meet-up —a reunion brokered by Empire to celebrate the series’ 25th anniversary —there are no beefs to be resolved. Quite the opposite, in fact. Carmela Soprano herself, Edie Falco, greets Lorraine Bracco (Dr Melfi) with a smile bigger than Paulie Walnuts’ kill list. And when the series’ legendary creator David Chase arrives, Steven Van Zandt —Silvio Dante in the show —salutes his capo with a cheer deeply out of keeping with the nonchalant mobster he once played.
Across six enthralling seasons, Chase, Falco, Bracco and Van Zandt —who prior to The Sopranos was best known as Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist —helped change television forever. The show told a complex, novelistic Mob tale that exploded a pipe bomb beneath presumptions of what TV could be. Aquarter of a century on from its first episode, there’s much to celebrate —and much to mourn, too. At one point in our interview, Empire wonders how much sweeter this reunion would be were James Gandolfini — the man who was Tony Soprano, the show’s tortured, charismatic lead —here to share in its incredible legacy. No need to worry, though, says Falco. “He’s here,” she smiles. “I truly believe he’s with us right now…”
First things first: The Sopranos was a show where characters were lucky to make it through six minutes, let alone six seasons. Edie, Steven, Lorraine — your characters were three of the few to make it out alive by the final episode. Was it a monetary bribe you gave David, or…?
Steven Van Zandt: Nah, we were just the cheapest. [Laughs]
Edie Falco: So that’s why we lasted so long! Is that right, David?
