On Feb. 26, 2026, David Chase took part in a panel discussion at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City
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Steven Van Zandt and Ariel Kiley were also in attendance as the museum honored the acclaimed HBO series, The Sopranos
During the conversation, Chase revealed that when pitching the show, he had to prepare alternate, less-violent versions of the script to present to different networks
David Chase, the creator and showrunner ofThe Sopranos, reflected on the long road to bringing his groundbreaking drama to television during a recent appearance at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
The museum honored the landmark series with a special exhibition and three screenings celebrating its legacy. Speaking candidly during a panel discussion, Chase revisited the early struggles he faced trying to get the project made.
Before the show became a cultural force, he said, it was repeatedly rejected by networks that were wary of its tone and subject matter. "Everybody turned it down. But I did a rewrite. See, the first draft that I did, which was for Fox…nobody got killed because it was a network show," Chase explained. "I thought, 'I can't have a murder. I can't have somebody…have Tony [Soprano] kill somebody.' And then they didn't do it."
The panel, which also featured Steven Van Zandt and Ariel Kiley, gave Chase the chance to explain how he ultimately reshaped the script. Determined to make the story feel authentic, he restored theviolence and moral consequencesthat he believed were essential to portraying organized crime.
When he pitched the revised version to HBO, he no longer held back. "I rewrote it and I put in a murder, that Chris kills this Czechoslovakian guy, and that then sold," Chase, 80, recalled.
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Looking back, Chase remains deeply proud of the series and thankful for HBO granting him total creative freedom. In a2024 interview with PEOPLEtied to the show's 25th anniversary, he called it "the best thing I probably will ever do."
Reflecting on its enduring popularity, Chase said, "I still feel this tremendous sense of gratitude that it's still going on." With nearly two decades since the show's conclusion in 2007, he added that he "can't remember this happening with any other television show ever."
During its six-season run from 1999 to 2007,The Sopranosearned 21 Emmy Awards, five Golden Globes and two Peabody Awards.
Its success was driven in large part byJames Gandolfini's powerful portrayal of Tony Soprano, a mob boss who was both menacing and darkly humorous, helping redefine what television drama could achieve.
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