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How The Sopranos changed TV for ever

Peter Biskind describes how a once despised medium became the definitive narrative art form of the early 21st century. But has it now passed its peak?

20 January 2024

9:00 AM

20 January 2024

9:00 AM

Pandora’s Box: The Greed, Lust and Lies that Broke Television Peter Biskind

Allen Lane, pp.383, 25

Remotely: Travel in the Binge of TV David Thomson

Yale, pp.270, 20

‘Too many characters, too many plot lines, characters who weren’t very good at their jobs, and their personal lives were a mess.’ Thus the memo to the creatives behind Hill Street Blues. ‘It was like a blueprint for what made every show successful since The Sopranos,’ Kevin Spacey giggles to Peter Biskind.

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