The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) not be picked up by HBO and, in that case, planned to ask the network for additional money to shoot another 45 minutes and turn it into a feature film. Chase was also pressured by another, completely new development deal offered to him by another network, which he kept postponing until he heard HBO's verdict on "The Sopranos". Right before Christmas of 1997, David Chase received a phone call and learned that HBO did like the pilot and ordered a full season, all of which happened about two hours before the deadline for accepting the other network's deal. Chase was
The Sopranos controversy, the ambiguity over the ending and question of whether Tony was murdered has continued for years after the finale's original broadcast and has spawned numerous websites devoted to finding out his true intention. "The Sopranos" was a major ratings success, despite being aired on premium cable network HBO which is available in significantly fewer American homes than regular networks. The show frequently attracted equal or larger audiences than most popular network shows of the time. Nielsen ratings for the first four seasons are not entirely accurate, however, as Nielsen reported aggregate numbers for cable networks prior to January 2004,