At some point I noticed that whenever I would talk about The Sopranos, people would suggest I watch Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014) (spoilers for both shows below). I finally have, and it almost feels like a spinoff. Terence Winter, the creator of the series, was a writer and producer on The Sopranos. Both shows were prestige dramas on HBO that centered around an antihero crime boss in New Jersey. In addition to Steve Buscemi, who spent one season as Tony Soprano’s cousin, Dominic Chianese and Greg Antonacci played roles on both shows.
So throughout watching Boardwalk Empire, I couldn’t help comparing every aspect of the series to its glorious predecessor. This felt unfair; I wanted to give Boardwalk Empire a chance on its own terms. Yet this was difficult to do, and I think that the producers are at least partly to blame. Was Chianese really the best possible actor to play the Commodore’s lawyer? Uncle Junior’s charming senility left such a strong impression that it took some getting used to in order to think of him as a clear-thinking attorney with mutton chops who might have fought in the Civil War. It was such a small role that it would’ve been easy to go with someone else. While casting Chianese was a good decision for the sake of viewership, it most certainly hurt the art itself.
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In the end, Boardwalk Empire for me served as a reminder of why The Sopranos was so unique. Just as how seeing the way an average student thinks can increase one’s appreciation for a genius at work, viewing a somewhat above average prestige drama modeled on a much superior predecessor provided a stark contrast illuminating how David Chase did something above and beyond other TV producers. One could read this article as a follow-up to my piece on what made The Sopranos great.
This is particularly noticeable when it comes to crowd-pleasing scenes and plot twists. If David Chase was told that his audience would love it if the show developed in a certain way, that would be a reason for him not to go in that direction. A great artist, like a great intellectual, must at some level hate his audience. You feel that throughout The Sopranos. Boardwalk Empire, in contrast, is clearly there to serve the viewer. The Sopranos could succeed without doing this because the show’s cast, along with the novelty of what it was doing, could make it a breakout success regardless. This is analogous to how a highly charismatic politician can have more leeway to break with public opinion or his base on controversial issues.