Although 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� debuted on HBO 20 years ago today, its impact on television today is unmistakable.
The story of the New Jersey crime family and its boss Tony Soprano was groundbreaking for its examination of family, depression, and violence.
After spending two decades as a TV producer, creator David Chase developed the idea of a mafia family drama but initially envisioned it as a movie.
However, specialty channel HBO eventually aired it as a TV show on Jan. 10, 1999 and it went on to win critical acclaim and ran for six seasons.
Television columnist Bill Brioux called it 鈥渢he greatest drama ever鈥� and said its impact on future storytelling is a large reason why.
Examination of the anti-hero
Actor James Gandolfini portrayed the sociopathic mobster in a way that had audiences rooting for him, Brioux said.
At the time, it was revolutionary to show a television character who had 鈥済ood qualities, despite the fact that he killed people.鈥�
Richard Crouse, 麻豆影视 film critic and host of Pop Life, agreed and said the show 鈥渢ook characters who did terrible things and made them the star of the show.鈥�
鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� writers went to great lengths to show that Tony wasn鈥檛 a one-dimensional, moustache-twirling villain: He struggled with being a husband and father; he felt inadequate and even had panic attacks.
This complex, character study format was taken up by show writers Matthew Weiner and Terence Winter, who went on to create the TV shows, 鈥淢ad Men鈥� and 鈥淏oardwalk Empire鈥� respectively.
鈥淭hese guys came into it knowing that they could go into the darker places they couldn鈥檛 on network TV,鈥� Brioux said adding 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� ushered in a new golden age for television.
This undated photo provided by HBO, shows, from left, actors James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, Edie Falco as Carmela and Robert Iler as Anthony Jr. in a scene from the finale of, "The Sopranos." (HBO / Will Hart)
Serialized storytelling
The mafia show introduced viewers to the slow-burn style to storytelling.
Crouse said the show was like a 鈥渂ig puzzle鈥� and gave gravitas to serialized storytelling -- a format largely only seen in soap operas.
鈥淏ut what 鈥楾he Sopranos鈥� proved is you can show complex emotions and do it over the course of years and people will stay with you,鈥� he said.
HBO鈥檚 鈥淭rue Detective鈥� and 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� as well as AMC鈥檚 鈥淏reaking Bad鈥� have flourished with the television format because writers can truly examine character, Crouse said.
鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� creator George R.R. Martin even 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� as the template in which his own characters could be fleshed out in a way that wasn鈥檛 possible in film.
This gave way to shows like ABC鈥檚 鈥淟ost鈥�, HBO鈥檚 鈥淒eadwood鈥� and 鈥淭he Wire鈥� which could sometimes take years to pay off a storyline.
In fact, video-streaming platforms like Netflix have built entire business models around binge-able serials like 鈥淗ouse of Cards,鈥� 鈥淣arcos鈥� and 鈥淪tranger Things.鈥�
'Sopranos' executive producers David Chase, second from left, and Brad Grey, centre, pose with cast and crew after winning the award for outstanding drama series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (AP / Reed Saxon)
TV is not second-rate to films
Long-form, cinematic-level drama on television was a relatively new concept when 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� aired in 1999.
Crouse said there used to be a 鈥渓owest common denominator feel to television 鈥� with stories dumbed down, in a way to make everyone feel included.鈥�
But the mob show made stories feel 鈥渕ore grander, more epic, more cinematic.鈥� He added that the show started the idea that seasons can feel like 鈥�10-hour movies.鈥�
鈥淭here was psychological underpinnings to everything which hadn鈥檛 been explored on mainstream TV,鈥� Crouse said.
Brioux gave credit to HBO which 鈥渏ust ran with it鈥� and allowed the show to push the envelope in a way network channels like NBC, CBS or FOX wouldn鈥檛.
鈥淒avid Chase took full advantage of that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don't think he would have gotten away with showing a guy this ruthless on network shows.鈥�
Channels like Showtime, FX and AMC even began to specialize in unorthodox stories which couldn鈥檛 be told on the silver screen.
