HBO: Television Will Never be the Same Again

The executives at HBO took a year to make up their minds about David Chase’s new drama. The pilot episode had been subtle, complex and dark. Were audiences really ready for a show about a mob boss in the throes of a midlife crisis? Then there was the name. The Sopranos? It sounded like a show about opera singers. They suggested some more explicit titles: Family Man, The Tony Files, Made In New Jersey. But Chase wouldn’t budge. Eventually, against some of their better instincts, they gave the series the go-ahead.

When the first set of scripts came through, their worst fears seemed fulfilled. In one of the early episodes, protagonist Tony Soprano was described as taking his teenage daughter on a college road trip, during the course of which he beats then fatally strangles a former colleague turned FBI informant. The executives were aghast. ‘We called David in and said, ”We can’t have the hero commit a brutal murder this early in the series! Are you nuts?"’ says HBO co-president Richard Plepler. ‘He said, ”That’s what it is. That’s the show I’m making.” We thought about that for a while and said, ”OK, you’re right. That is the show you’re making. And it’s a great show.’"

The discussion was to prove a turning point both for The Sopranos and HBO. Chase had the go-ahead to pursue his vision for the show without further interference from the executives. It would soon become an unprecedented critical and commercial hit. HBO, a subscription-only US channel hitherto known for showing films and live sporting events, had discovered a formula for success which would become their template for the next 10 years. Television would never be the same again.

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February 28, 2009