The Sopranos ended over 15 years ago, but it feels much more recent when looking at the internet. Memes about the series and its complicated main character, Tony Soprano, continue to dominate, and its cast continues to find work well after the show. Actor Steve Schirripa contends that the show is more popular now than during its run, and has some compelling reasons to back it up.
CinemaBlend spoke to Schirripa about his recent partnership with Sanpelligrino CIAO!, the latest line of sparkling waters from the Italian seltzer water company. I mentioned the continued popularity of The Sopranos as a factor in why the company reached out to him and Michael Imperioli to do its ad campaign, and asked if he found a younger audience is gravitating to the HBO show:
Absolutely, absolutely, positively. Kids in their late teens, twenties, they're all watching it. They were too young to watch it then, and with streaming, there are more people watching The Sopranos now than watched it back then. Not that many people had HBO and so they have found the show. COVID was a big part of it. I think it was the second-most-watched show during COVID. A lot of people picked it up there.
People watched The Sopranos with a Max subscription during the pandemic lockdowns, perhaps in anticipation of the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark. Whatever the case may be, Steve Schirripa has noted that many younger fans follow the show, which he's experienced through his Talking Sopranos podcast.
On top of a younger audience finding the show, however, Steve Schirripa says the series is reaching more audiences than it did when running on HBO back in the day. More countries than ever have access to the show in a way that wasn't possible in the pre-streaming era:
Now it's all over the world, you know, we know that from the podcast, UK, Australia, Spain, the show is massive over there. That didn't exist back then. Even Canada was like a year behind. So I think a lot more people and I think the show holds up for what it is...It holds up like it was written yesterday. And it's a very smart show, and that's why I think younger people have found it and embraced it.
People continue to love and admire The Sopranos characters and debate the controversial ending that seemingly left Tony's fate up in the air. As Steve Schirripa put it, there's a smartness to it that makes it easy to watch, and I think it's hard to dispute that its many Emmy awards were unjustified.
Granted, it's a show that's very much of the era, and it should be noted that mobsters are not the most upstanding of role models. There's a lot of stuff on this show that, to put it bluntly, would not fly on modern television, especially with comments about race or otherwise. In any case, its stark and unflinching portrait of a certain era of time has helped maintain its legitimacy and helped it cultivate an intense fandom.
Fast forward to now, and Steve Schirripa is working with Sanpelligrino CIAO! after being a big part of one of the peak era TV shows. The company's latest line of flavored sparkling seltzer waters is now in stores with lime, blood orange, cherry, and peach flavors for sale. Schirripa told CinemaBlend he's a big fan of the peach flavor, while I lean more toward the lime. In any case, it's a solid drink to enjoy and some gabagool if you like that sort of thing.
As mentioned, The Sopranos is available to stream on Max. For those who still haven't seen it yet, get on it immediately, and check out some of the other great shows on the streaming platform as well.
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