All the TV Shows The Sopranos Inspired | Wealth of Geeks

The Sopranos exploded onto the television scene with revolutionary force and metaphorical gunfire. TV shows didn’t experiment with morally ambiguous protagonists, antiheroes, gore, or dysfunctional families like David Chase’s in the 20th century.

After Tony Soprano and his kin elevated HBO to the forefront of cable in 1999, other crime dramas and genre pieces took from the genetic makeup of The Sopranos. These incredible shows all owe some sort of debt to the O.G.! Meet the best TV shows The Sopranos inspired.

1. Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad’s enthralling roller coaster plotlines would never have appeared on TV without The Sopranos opening the door. Walter White’s evolution from common civilian to drug emperor captured the devastation and consequences of poor decision-making like no other story put to screen.

2. Mad Men

Mad Men’s parallels to The Sopranos go further than just Matthew Weiner’s work on both programs. The series hauntingly envisions the internal struggles of a man who seemingly has everything, Don Draper, but mental health and narcism rip all ambitions and hopes to smithereens. 

3. Ozark

Ozark served as Jason Bateman’s entry into the drama world, and it also catapulted audiences into a world of crime and drugs. The Netflix hit explored all of the ways the Byrd family didn’t prepare for the harsh realities of cartel warfare. Great camerawork and lighting make the show feel cinematic, suggesting that The Sopranos inspired the cinematography.

4. Boardwalk Empire

The Sopranos’ Terrence Winter created this period piece about criminals working their way through Prohibition in 1920s New Jersey. Nucky Thompson juggles personal and professional lives much like Tony Soprano, and Steve Buschemi delivers a striking lead performance.

5. Lilyhammer

Lilyhammer feeds The Sopranos’ fans directly through the starring turn of Steven Van Zandt as Frank Tagliano. Van Zandt played Silvio Dante on The Sopranos, and this time, he gets more screen time as a mob boss out of his element living in Europe.

6. Succession

Audiences won’t find much blood or weaponry in Succession, but the emotional climaxes reached within the Roy family more than resemble the heated arguments that echoed from the Soprano household. Selfish betrayal and a heavy dose of dark humor make it hard to take a glance away from Waystar’s headquarters…and suggest The Sopranos inspired the series on more than one level.

7. Dexter

Imagine a world where a network could air a show about a serial killer as the protagonist before The Sopranos. Crazy, right? Dexter exemplified the vision of its inspiration with a plethora of internal dialogues and interesting dream sequences that allowed for essentially every thought of Dexter Morgan’s psyche.

8. Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy gives an entertaining insight into motorcycle culture while frequenting the family issues present at the heart of the biker club. The show dabbled in dense themes while going to extreme lengths to exhaust every parameter available for violence on cable network FX.

9. Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under doesn’t resemble The Sopranos through plot lines or characters, but the show artistically reflected the changing TV landscape that took place in the 2000s. Alan Ball’s family drama always throws at least one good dream sequence into each episode and touches on the effects of mental health problems.

10. Barry

Barry wouldn’t seem like it takes that much from The Sopranos, but the basic plot definitely couldn’t have existed before Tony Soprano’s show. Bill Hader’s character works through personal and professional issues as he tries to handle assigned assassinations and acting simultaneously.

11. Ray Donovan

Ray Donovan substitutes mob work for a potpourri of fixer activities. Liev Schreiber plays the title character with swag and confidence as the protagonist lives a life of crime that often spirals into something more dangerous than he originally intended.

12. Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul engages in the depth of its side characters much more than its predecessor, Breaking Bad. Much like The Sopranos, the series asks viewers to take their time with the story and think about its themes on a deeper level. Crime and consequences go hand in hand and allow the viewer to live vicariously through the poor decisions of Jimmy McGill and others.

13. Justified

Justified combines the best of the Western genre with antihero tropes from The Sopranos to create a unique and enthralling crime drama. Timothy Olyphant gives an underrated performance as a reckless ranger in the Midwest.

14. Hannibal

Hannibal builds on the incredible success of The Silence of the Lambs to give a clearer picture of the psychotic tendencies running through Hannibal Lecter’s mind. Both Hannibal and Tony Soprano have more complicated brains than most viewers could fathom.

15. The Bear

Hulu’s acclaimed cooking comedy-drama takes a lot of creative liberties from the dialogue in The Sopranos. Prodigious chef Carmy and his family bellow and scream just like Tony, Carmela, and Janice Soprano!

16. Gomorrah

Gomorrah suits the taste of fans who love The Sopranos for its mobster themes. The series takes place in Italy and goes in-depth on the cutthroat violence and rash thinking that intertwine the loyalties of organized crime.

17. The Wire

The Wire often gets credited with helping HBO rise to prominence alongside The Sopranos during the early 2000s. The series lays every last piece of Baltimore out in the open, from schools to police officers, and examines the internal rot of America’s most beloved values and decisions.

18. Deadwood

Deadwood throws audiences into the grimy, immoral fire of South Dakota in the mid-to-late 19th century. The ruthless leaders of the titular encampment used all means necessary to gain respect and rationalize their need for existence in the United States. Al Swearengen scares just as many people when he walks into a room as Tony Soprano.

19. The Shield

The Shield’s chronological proximity to The Sopranos makes it shine even brighter in television history. The series’ premise, a dirty cop who lets his ego and anger take over in the worst moments, clearly drew more than a few inspirations from Tony Soprano’s plight. The show helped FX usher in a new era of drama on its network.

20. The Americans

A period piece that throws viewers into the Cold War like no other, The Americans thrills audiences with a married Soviet couple that pretends to be American to gain a tactical advantage while spying on the enemy. Tony Soprano popularized the double life trope.

21. Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom shows a different type of crime family than audiences are used to, but the results are fascinating nonetheless. Janine Cody rules over her brood of boys with violence in her eyes as the family commits illegal acts to stay afloat.

22. Griselda

Loosely based on the life of Griselda Blanco, this recently released Netflix miniseries turns genre tropes upside down by placing a mother of three kids into a world of drugs and murder. Like Tony Soprano, Griselda’s attempts at protecting her family from the dangers of her profession come with varied results.