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 ranked first in "Rolling Stone"'s list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. In March 2018, New Line Cinema announced that they have purchased a film detailing the "Sopranos" background story, set in the 1960s during the Newark riots. Titled "The Many Saints of Newark", it is written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner and will be directed by Alan Taylor. David Chase had worked as a television producer for more than 20 years before creating "The Sopranos". He had been employed as a staff writer or producer for several television series, including "", "Switch", "The Rockford Files",