Having premiered on January 10, 1999, The Sopranos is often touted to be the series that ushered in the concept of ‘prestige television.’ Now that, after a couple of decades later, we are genuinely into the Golden Age of Television, this iconic show is not only fondly remembered but also believed to be one of the most well-made TV shows. This crime drama created by David Chase revolves around Tony Soprano, a mobster based in New Jersey. It seeks to show the challenges he has to face as he tries to balance his family life with his role as the leader of a criminal organization.

A Slice Of Life

The funny thing is, there are way too many things about the Soprano organization that bore striking similarities with actual characters and events of the mob background of New Jersey. No wonder, it left the mobsters wondering how the show managed to hit a little so close to home. Besides, in the very first episode of Season three, agents plat wiretaps at Tony Soprano’s house. The way that episode was created was strikingly realistic, as that is how FBI agents operate during an actual investigation.

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 The Sopranos: 10 years since it finished.
via The Guardian

It has also been reported that FBI agents used to discuss the latest episode of the show on Mondays when they were at work. Wait for the even more surprising part! When they listened to the wiretaps from the weekend, they realized even the mob guys were talking about The Sopranos. The FBI agents and the mafia gang had different perspectives, but what was shared in their takes was how both sides found the show to be incredibly close to real life.

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 Reflections on The Sopranos.
via Econlib

Stories From Actors' Personal Lives Interwoven Into The Plot

What's more, Vincent Curatola, who played New York boss John Sacrimoni has a story of his own in this context. Once, he had gone to a different church to receive communion, and the priest ended up exclaiming- "Oh, Body of Christ, Johnny!"

The writers of this TV series had a knack for infusing the characters with many real-life aspects of the lives of the cast. For example, they gave Pauliegermophobia, and it might surprise you that Tony Sirico, who played Paulie, actually had that phobia! And that's not all, even the most distinctive feature of Paulie Walnut's life, his relationship with his mother, was also derived from Sirico's real life as he too lived with his mother for 16 years before she passed.

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Here's a little trivia- given that the writers of the show tended to borrow things from actors' lives, the late James Gandolfini (who played Tony Soprano) took to referring to them, including the creator David Chase, as vampires! There is also a popular perception that it was the real-life mafia family DeCavalcante, who inspired The Sopranos. The character of Tony Soprano, the boss of the mob, was said to be based on captain Simone DeCavalcante.

The Many Saints Of Newark.
via Reddit

Twenty years down the line, fans still go gaga over this show, and not for no reason! With the news of its film prequel doing the rounds, the convincing power of the show is set to leap further! The prequel, The Many Saints of Newark, is expected to follow the same formula, which proved to be successful for the show! All said and done, one is quite convinced that David Chase borrowed about 10-15% local mob tales and added copious doses of his imagination into it. When the stories finally reached the production stage, actors from the team, such as James Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli, added to it with their interpretations.

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