This year, actually, this month, marks the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos,” quite possibly the most acclaimed show of all-time, and for good reason.
Created by David Chase, the mobster drama is credited as kickstarting what’s often called the modern “Golden Age” of television. But, in the era of streaming, has this “Golden Age” finally ended? Chase seems to think so.
In an interview with the Times of London (via The Guardian), Chase sees the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos” more as a “funeral” for sophisticated television, referring to the “Golden Age” as a “25-year blip,” never to be replicated.
I’m not talking only about ‘The Sopranos,’ but a lot of other hugely talented people out there who I feel increasingly bad for. This is the 25th anniversary, so of course it’s a celebration. But perhaps we shouldn’t look at it like that. Maybe we should look at it like a funeral.
This “Golden Age” resulted in shows like “The Sopranos,” “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” and “The Wire” redefining what “TV” could and should be. It even spawned, much-needed, debate about whether cinema was now the inferior medium.
However, Chase believes that the signs of television quality deteriorating are now very present. This regression has been witnessed first hand with his own experiences trying to greenlight a show, which he claims one TV exec complained “required an audience to focus.” According to Chase, executives have also criticized the script, for another show he’s working on, as being “too complex.”
We are more into multitasking. We seem to be confused and audiences can’t keep their minds on things, so we can’t make anything that makes too much sense, takes our attention and requires an audience to focus. And as for streaming executives? It is getting worse. We’re going back to where we were.
Maybe, Chase is correct in his assessment that we’ve entered a new, less quality-induced phase of television. At the moment, I can’t think of any show, currently airing, that could carry the significance of a “Breaking Bad” or ‘Sopranos.’ Also, “Succession” just ended its run, and that, according to Chase, was the last gasp of this “Golden Age.”
I try to catch up with whatever critically-acclaimed prestige television is out there. There are still plenty of strong examples that could negate Chase’s theory of television dwindling — “The Bear,” “The Curse,” and “Beef” come to mind as some of 2023’s better examples.
However, we should also consider ourselves lucky to have experienced the incredible variety of shows that came forth these last 25 years. If I had to choose my 10 favorites then they would be “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men,” “The Wire,” “Succession,” “The Leftovers,” “Twin Peaks: The Return,” “Lost” “Better Call Saul,” and “Six Feet Under.”