The Sopranos, a television drama series created by David Chase, premiered on the premium television channel HBO in the United States on January 10, 1999, and ended on June 10, 2007. The series consists of a total of 86 episodes over six seasons. Each episode is approximately 50 minutes long. The first five seasons each consist of thirteen episodes, and the sixth season twenty-one.
HBO broadcast the sixth season in two parts. The first twelve episodes ran from March to June 2006, and the remaining nine episodes ran from April to June 2007. HBO also released the two parts of the sixth season as separate DVD box sets. This effectively turns the second part into a short seventh season, though the show's producers and HBO don't describe it as such. All six seasons are available on DVD in Regions 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Unlike most broadcast and cable networks that put their television programs on a four-month hiatus between seasons, The Sopranos took longer hiatuses between seasons. Season four, for example, premiered sixteen months after the third season finale, and the sixth season returned almost two years after the end of season five.
The Sopranos stars James Gandolfini as the Italian-American New Jersey-based contemporary mobster Tony Soprano.Edie Falco plays his wife Carmela Soprano, and Lorraine Bracco as his psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi. The continuing story arc of The Sopranos is of how Tony Soprano deals with the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads.