The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) Michael Santoro play Irina and Father Phil respectively. For future episodes, these roles were recast with Oksana Lada and Paul Schulze. Drea De Matteo was originally simply cast as a restaurant hostess for this one episode only. The filmmakers liked her performance, and her character was developed into the role of Adriana La Cerva in future episodes. The pork store used as a meeting place is Centanni's Meat Market, a real butcher shop in Elizabeth, New Jersey. However, because the shop had a steady business and because local business owners were annoyed with the incidental effects of having a television
The Sopranos the greatest pop-culture masterpiece of its day" by "Vanity Fair" contributor Peter Biskind. Remnick called the show "the richest achievement in the history of television." In 2002, "TV Guide" ranked "The Sopranos" fifth on their list of the "Top 50 TV Shows of All Time," while the series was only in its fourth season. In 2007, Channel 4 (UK) named "The Sopranos" the greatest television series of all time. The first season of the series received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Following its initial airing in 1999, "The New York Times" stated, "["The Sopranos"] just may be the greatest work of American