The Sopranos unpredictably violent tendencies turn Tony resentful. Richie Aprile is released from prison in season 2, and quickly makes waves. Pontecorvo is a young soldier who becomes a "made" man alongside Christopher. Spatafore works his way up through the ranks to become top earner of the Aprile crew, but is secretly homosexual. Friends of the Soprano family include: Herman "Hesh" Rabkin (Jerry Adler); Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo); Rosalie Aprile (Sharon Angela); Angie Bonpensiero (Toni Kalem), along with Artie (John Ventimiglia) and Charmaine Bucco (Kathrine Narducci). Hesh is an invaluable adviser and friend to Tony, as he was when Tony's
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