The Sopranos

1999 • TMDB 8.7 • 6 seasons • Crime & Drama

Overview

Tony Soprano runs a New Jersey crime family with a steady hand and a failing heart — not the physical kind, but the emotional one. Between managing soldiers, a demanding mother, a restless wife and two teenagers, the mob boss starts collapsing into panic attacks, and his therapist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, becomes the one person he cannot lie to, threaten or buy off. Creator David Chase uses that unlikely therapy room as the engine for a series that is less about shootouts than about self-deception: Tony wants to be a good father and a ruthless leader at the same time, and every season tightens that contradiction until it snaps. Around him, Carmela weighs faith against comfort, Christopher chases respect he cannot hold, and the family business decays into something smaller, sadder and more desperate. Funny, brutal and strangely tender, The Sopranos changed what television could do — and it still feels startlingly modern.

Creator and Main Cast

Created by David Chase. Main cast: James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano, Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi, Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti, Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano, Robert Iler as A.J. Soprano, Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante, Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri, and Dominic Chianese as Corrado “Junior” Soprano.

Seasons Snapshot

• Season 1 (1999) — 13 episodes. Tony begins therapy while balancing family life and a mob war in the making.
• Season 2 (2000) — 13 episodes. Junior’s trial and Richie Aprile’s return test Tony’s control.
• Season 3 (2001) — 13 episodes. Ralph Cifaretto arrives and the family fractures deepen.
• Season 4 (2002) — 13 episodes. Tony and Carmela’s marriage reaches breaking point.
• Season 5 (2004) — 13 episodes. Tony Blundetto’s release brings old loyalties and new bloodshed.
• Season 6 (2006–2007) — 21 episodes. The long goodbye: Tony’s world narrows to a final, famously unresolved cut to black.

Why Watch The Sopranos

Because it remains the benchmark every prestige drama is measured against. The Sopranos treats a mob story as a study of American decline, middle age and moral drift, and it does so with jokes as sharp as its violence. If you have only seen its reputation, the surprise is how intimate it is: this is a show about a man in therapy, a marriage in trouble and children growing up in the shadow of a lie.

Trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube: The Sopranos | Critics Rave Trailer | HBO.

Where to Watch

In the US, The Sopranos streams on HBO Max (including via the HBO Max Amazon Channel), and is available to buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home. Availability was checked against JustWatch US listings on October 29, 2026; check the JustWatch US page for The Sopranos for the latest options.