The Sopranos (season 1) latter site reporting the critical consensus as, ""The Sopranos" smartly runs an emotional gamut, offering detailed character work and riveting suspense while displaying a flair for both comedy and drama." James Gandolfini was widely hailed for his performance, with Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" praising his "magnificently shrewd, wary performance" as Tony Soprano. "Deseret News" expressed approval for the show's clear insight into the "modern incarnations of family and mortality and ambition." Marvin Kitman of "Newsday" wrote, "It's a great show, the best new series of the year. It's so - dare I say it? - original. It catches you
Livia Soprano Livia Soprano Olivia "Livia" Soprano (née Pollio), played by Nancy Marchand, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series "The Sopranos". She is the mother of Tony Soprano. A young Livia, played by Laila Robins and later by Laurie J. Williams is sometimes seen in flashbacks. Series creator David Chase has stated that the main inspiration for the character was his own mother. In 2016, "Rolling Stone" ranked her #3 of their "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time". Olivia Pollio Soprano was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Teresa and Faustino "Augie" Pollio, Italian immigrants from Avellino. Livia's