More than a quarter century removed from its premiere, the seminal multi-Emmy-winning mobster drama The Sopranos remains a rewatch staple, with its quintessential commentary on class and the American dream.
Spanning six seasons from 1999 through 2007, the David Chase-created HBO show ushered in an era of prestige hits from Mad Men to Breaking Bad that similarly skewered capitalism and masculinity. It’s why star Michael Imperioli, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) protégé Christopher Moltisani, posited that the characters of the show would likely have similar values of conservatism in today’s age and ironically align themselves with MAGA and President Donald Trump.
“The show is about the American dream, especially through the eyes of immigrants,” he told The Independent in a recent interview. “I think that would be one of the big themes if it was made today: the current climate in the U.S. and what they’re doing to immigrants. The fact is that these characters are all immigrants, but I think a lot of them would probably be Trump supporters, oddly enough. So how do they reconcile those things? When Italians came over — and people forget this, or they don’t want to see it — a lot of them were undocumented.”
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The Sopranos follows eponymous patriarch Tony Soprano as he juggles obligations to his family with that of another tight-knit group, the mafia, in the 2000s. The crux of the story begins with his inaugural visit to a therapist to deal with and unpack his personal and professional problems, which beget panic attacks.
Imperioli is currently on tour with co-stars Vincent Pastore and Steve Schirripa in the U.K. and Ireland, taking his and Schirripa’s popular rewatch podcast, Talking Sopranos, to live audiences.