The Sopranos Both have up-and-down relationships with their two children: the intelligent-but-rebellious Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), and underachiever A.J. (i.e., Anthony Jr.) (Robert Iler), whose everyday teenage issues are further complicated by their eventual knowledge of their father's criminal activities and reputation. The starring cast includes members of Tony's extended family, including: his disapproving, manipulative mother, Olivia "'Livia" Soprano (Nancy Marchand); his aimless, histrionic older sister, Janice (Aida Turturro); his paternal uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano (Dominic Chianese), nominal boss of the crime family following the death of then-acting boss Jackie Aprile Sr.; cousin Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi); and Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), often
The Sopranos pilot episode which was shot in 1997. Chase directed it himself. They finished the pilot and showed it to HBO executives, but the show was put on hold for several months. During this time, Chase considered asking HBO for additional funding to shoot 45 more minutes of footage and release "The Sopranos" as a feature film. In December 1997, HBO decided to produce the series and ordered 12 more episodes for a 13-episode season. The show premiered on HBO on January 10, 1999 with the pilot episode. "The Sopranos" was the second hour-long television drama series produced by HBO, the