David Chase spoke within the framework of the 25th anniversary of the series that inaugurated a new way of making series.
This January marks the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos”, one of the most acclaimed and beloved series of all time. The gangster drama of David Chase It paved the way for other boundary-pushing dramas, and is considered to have started what is often called the modern “Golden Age” of television. But now, that Golden Age is over, according to Chase himself.
In an interview with the Times UK, Chase called the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos” a “funeral” for the kind of sophisticated, ambitious television that his iconic show made popular and lively. He referred to the “prestige” era, which saw the rise of acclaimed shows like “Succession”, “Mad Men”, “Breaking Bad” and “The Wire”among many others, as a “25-year break.”
“And to be clear, I’m not just talking about ‘The Sopranos,’ but a lot of other enormously talented people for whom I feel increasingly bad,” Chase told the Times. “This is the 25th anniversary, so of course it’s a celebration. But maybe we shouldn’t see it that way. Maybe we should see it as a funeral.”
Chase further stated that he has already seen signs that television is regressing in complexity in his own career, and said that He has been warned not to make television that “requires the audience to concentrate”. She shared a story about a project she is working on with screenwriter Hannah Fidell, about a high-level sex worker in witness protection. According to Chase, executives have already criticized his script, still in draft stage, for being “too complex.”
“We like multitasking more,” Chase told The Times. “We seem to be confused and the audience can’t keep their mind on things, so we can’t do anything that makes much sense, that grabs our attention and requires the audience to concentrate. And as for streaming executives? It is getting worse. “We are going back to where we were.”
David Chase and the difficulty of releasing The Sopranos
Elsewhere in the interview, Chase talked about his difficulties in getting “The Sopranos” was made before its debut on HBO in 1999, as several networks such as Fox They rejected his proposal. He memorably described the network at the time as if he was in an “artistic hole.”
“The process was repulsive. In meetings, these people would always ask to remove the only thing that made an episode worth doing. “I should have left it,” Chase said. “I should have known that a real gangster show wouldn’t happen on American television. If you think your grandmother is risk-averse, you should meet people online.”
Chase returned to the world of “The Sopranos” with “The Many Saints of Newark”, a prequel film that was released in 2021 to mixed reception. Chase is currently collaborating on a new untitled project with original series star Michael Imperioli.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
