The Sopranos (season 3) the series as the "elitist of the elite," adding: "...The Sopranos resurfaces once more as a superbly written and executed hybrid of popular entertainment and high art, offering up its own Golden Age of TV." "Detroit Free Press" commended the series creator, David Chase, and singled out the show's writing and acting for praise: "The Sopranos, even as series creator David Chase changes pace this season from power struggles to family matters, is still as good as television gets: wonderfully written, superbly acted, always unpredictable." 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards 8th Screen Actors Guild Awards 59th Golden Globe Awards 6th Golden
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,