The first five episodes were watershed for the Soprano writers

Similar to its beloved HBO colleague "The Wire", the first season of "The Sopranos" acts as a closed arc but would leave its season finale as open-ended as its infamous series finale. Main villains Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand) and Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) are both decommissioned, but new seasons would bring new antagonists, a series staple where death still looms, and its players are forever doomed. looking over their shoulder.

Chase would become known for leading a tight ship in the writers room, even beyond the first five episodes (and presumably, he had the writers he wanted). In Brett Martin's book "Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution", Chase's demanding tutelage over the series is assumed to stem from decades of mediocre studio work. Season five writer Matthew Weiner reportedly said:

"We exorcise David's demons. Do you know how many decisions were based on a reunion when he was on 'Northern Exposure' or 'Rockford' or 'Kolchak' or some other show you never heard of talk about where he worked for three years and someone said, "You can't do that"?"

No-gos for Chase included a ban on shooting while walking and talking (which provides information via dialogue as two characters share the frame and walk to their next destination) and a strict rule on camera movement in Tony's therapy scenes. A quick start was in store for any writer the showrunner felt lost contact as quickly as a mob hit.

It was the pressure of working on the number one show in America. As Tony says of running a criminal empire, "Every decision you make affects every facet of every fucking other thing." Fifteen years after "The Sopranos", the series' legacy is an incredible testament to the meticulousness of its creator.