Why The Sopranos Ended After Season 6

After six seasons of The Sopranos, the acclaimed HBO series came to an end in one of the most talked about finales in TV history. Given the massive success of the show throughout its 1999-2007 run, there were many questions as to why it ended. A number of reasons can contribute to a show ending, from the creative energy running dry to the viewership declining. However, The Sopranos ushered in a new era of television where the showrunners told complete and complex stories that would inevitably reach a fitting conclusion after years of work and consistent push and pull.

When David Chase created the series, The Sopranos changed television with a daring, bold, and utterly unique approach to storytelling. Tony Soprano was a protagonist that audiences were interested in, as a mobster dealing with his own mental health issues, but he was also a monster who did irredeemable things. The groundbreaking show won 21 Emmys and was nominated for 111 more while helping to establish HBO as a network of prestige television. Part of the lasting legacy may have been that The Sopranos chose to end while it was still one of the best shows that was on television.

David Chase Chose To End The Sopranos With Season 6

The Sopranos lasted for six seasons, the last of which was split into two parts in 2006 and 2007, and the decision to end the series ultimately lay with creator David Chase. When The Sopranos finale aired in June 2007, the series hadn't experienced any major drop in viewership, so it wasn't HBO who was calling for its cancelation. Rather, The Sopranos ended because Chase drafted the best finale for the story, which he told a crowd gathered for his Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television acceptance in 2008 after an extended hiatus between seasons 5 and 6.

This isn't to say there wasn't some HBO interference, particularly early on. According to interviews in Alan Sepinwall's and Matt Zoller Seitz's book The Sopranos Sessions, Chase didn't want to continue with the show past its second season, but pay raises for himself and his cast made ducking out early a near impossibility. By the time the fourth season was winding down, Chase says, "I thought I had more to give The Sopranos. I wasn't ready to give up. I was feeling really good, and I wanted to keep doing it."

Why David Chase Didn't End The Sopranos Earlier

After finally winning the Best Drama Series Emmy for the show's fifth season, then-HBO chairman Chris Albrecht said in The New York Times that Chase felt "really reinvigorated." Therefore, an initial plan to produce ten more episodes and sign off transformed into a deal for 21. Those 21 new The Sopranos episodes were filmed in one continuous production cycle and then premiered as two separate parts, the first in March 2006 and the second in January 2007.

In this way, Chase satisfied the coffers of HBO leadership, who of course wanted their flagship program to continue as long as possible, while still staying true to the story he set out to tell at the beginning. The result was a finale that came not because of declining ratings or creative bankruptcy, but because of the organic nature of the storytelling. The tale of Tony Soprano and his two families had run its course. It's a credit to HBO for trusting that course throughout the run of The Sopranos, but it's Chase who knew just when to cut to black.

How The Sopranos Set Up Its Finale

While there is a lot of debate about what happens to Tony Soprano in The Sopranos finale, the lead-up to the show's ending does a great job of preparing the audience for his possible end. Given the life of crime that Tony has chosen for himself, danger and possible death are things that were always part of the show. There had been numerous attempts on his life, but as the show led up to the finale, it certainly felt like his death could be a realistic end for the series.

The very real threat was coming from Phil Leotardo, a fellow mobster who Tony has always been at odds with. Their bad blood continued to worsen over the years with deaths on both sides, which each man blames on the other. In the final episodes of the series, their rivalry ignited into an all-out war which led to the death of Bobby Baccalieri and an attempt on Silvio Dante's life that left him in a coma he was unlikely to wake from.

Aside from his own life now being in danger, death was following Tony around in the final episodes. His troubled son, AJ, attempted to drown himself in the family pool while Tony killed his "nephew" Christopher a few short episodes before the end of the series. Death was left lingering in the air in the final episodes, setting the stage for the pulse-pounding finale in which the audience was expecting some big deaths. However, it is not surprising that the show didn't follow through on how fans expected things to play out.

How The Sopranos Spinoff Movie Was Received

Coming out more than a decade after The Sopranos ended, there were likely a lot of fans eagerly anticipating the spinoff movie The Many Saints of Newark. However, any anticipated for the film did not result in good box office numbers. While the movie was simultaneously released in theaters and on Max, it still had a less-than-expected box office intake. However, The Many Saints of Newark was a success on streaming and led to an increased viewership of The Sopranos as well.

There was clearly some interest in exploring this world more, however, the reaction to The Many Saints of Newark suggested this was not the story fans were interested in. The movie received mixed to positive with a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a muted response given how acclaimed the series was. The story was criticized as being unnecessary and uninteresting, while the movie did score acclaim for several performances, including Alessandro Nivola as Dickie and Michael Gandolfini as Tony.

The excitement in seeing young Gandolfini pull off the role his father made famous was one of the most rewarding and touching aspects of the movie. However, as fun as it is to see some other beloved characters like Paulie, Silvio, and Junior popping up, the story of Dickie, a character who fans of the show never really knew, and Tony before he was involved in the mob, was not what fans wanted to see.

Should The Sopranos Continue With More Spinoffs Or A Revival?

While The Many Saints of Newark was not the big success that was hoped for and could have been seen as a disappointment by fans, there is the possibility of the franchise continuing with other spinoffs. David Chase previously expressed interest in telling a story that would deal with Tony in his 20s. There is also always the possibility of a revival series taking a look at the events after The Sopranos ended. However, it is a better idea to let the show remain as it is with no further stories needed to be told.

The Many Saints of Newark seemed to suggest two things. First, James Gandolfini would be nearly impossible to replace as older Tony Sopranos, and secondly, fans aren't interested in a Sopranos story in which Tony isn't the main character. Michael Gandolfini was great as young Tony and is the only other actor who could play that character, but it is hard to imagine him ever capturing the intensity and seething rage of his father's performance. Seeing him play a 20-something Tony would feel like a new character rather than the TV icon fans know.

To have a revival series taking place after the infamous finale would be an even bigger mistake. Not having Tony as a main character in the series would set it up as an impossible obstacle to overcome. Furthermore, there is no suitable remaining character for the show to focus on. In a mob story cliché, the story could follow AJ seeking revenge for the death of his father, but AJ was never that kind of character nor one who should be in the spotlight.

While The Sopranos ending didn't satisfy everyone, it should be allowed to exist as it is with the ambiguity and all.

The Sopranos

10/10

The Sopranos follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano as he navigates the challenges of managing his family and criminal enterprise. He seeks guidance from psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi while dealing with complex dynamics involving his wife Carmela, cousin Christopher Moltisanti, and other Mafia associates.