The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) "The Sopranos", also known as "Pilot", is the first episode of the HBO television drama series, "The Sopranos", which premiered on January 10, 1999. It was written and directed by the series creator and executive producer David Chase. New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano passes out while barbecuing. Tony's collapse is diagnosed as a panic attack, leading to his referral to psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. Tony is initially uncooperative, but soon tells Dr. Melfi a story about a family of ducks which nested in his swimming pool. He goes over tensions between Carmela and Meadow over a
The Sopranos diverse and interesting heritages than the American public generally realizes." Humanities professor Camille Paglia, herself an Italian American, has spoken negatively about "The Sopranos", arguing that its depiction of Italian Americans was inaccurate, inauthentic, and dated. Chase has defended his show, saying that it is not meant to stereotype all Italian Americans, only to depict a small criminal subculture. A video game based on the series titled "The Sopranos: Road to Respect" was released for the PlayStation 2 by THQ in November 2006. In March 2018, New Line Cinema announced that they had purchased a film detailing the background story