Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

$0.00 for first 30 days

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Sopranos Sessions cover art

The Sopranos Sessions

By: Matt Zoller Seitz, Alan Sepinwall, David Chase, Laura Lippman - foreword
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

James Gandolfini cover art
Off the Back of a Truck cover art
Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born cover art
The Rise and Fall of a "Casino" Mobster cover art
The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex cover art
Director's Cut cover art
Woody cover art
HALO: The Fall of Reach cover art
Keanu Reeves: Most Triumphant cover art
Refuge Omnibus Edition cover art
27 Essential Principles of Story cover art
Bad Motherf--ker cover art
BAKEMONOGATARI, Part 1 cover art
Star Wars: Ahsoka cover art
Mike Nichols cover art
I Like to Watch cover art

Summary

On January 10, 1999, a mobster walked into a psychiatrist's office and changed TV history. By shattering preconceptions about the kinds of stories the medium should tell, The Sopranos launched our current age of prestige television, paving the way for such giants as Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones.

As TV critics for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, New Jersey's Star-Ledger, Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz were among the first to write about the series before it became a cultural phenomenon.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show's debut, Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produce The Sopranos Sessions, a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode. Featuring a series of new long-form interviews with series creator David Chase, as well as selections from the authors' archival writing on the series, The Sopranos Sessions explores the show's artistry, themes, and legacy, examining its portrayal of Italian Americans, its graphic depictions of violence, and its deep connections to other cinematic and television classics.

Contains mature themes.

©2019 Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall (P)2020 Tantor

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Transform your day

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Listen everywhere

Listen everywhere

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Carry your entire Library

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Listen and learn

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Reach your reading goals

Reach your reading goals

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Find your niche

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for £0.00 £7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

What listeners say about The Sopranos Sessions

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

addictive like the show!

great insight into an extraordinary show. I really enjoyed the layout and input from David Chase

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The making of an anti-hero

Tony Soprano is one of the all-time great TV villains. He had two families - his wife and kids, and his organised crime clan. The Sopranos told the story of Tony’s attempts to spin these plates. The series opens with Tony visiting his psychiatrist - in real life a dangerous move for any real-life Mob chieftain. In the series, Tony’s interaction with Dr Melfi becomes one of the pivotal relationships as he battles depression and panic attacks which cause him to faint suddenly at stressful moments. The Sopranos Sessions explores the series in granular detail. There are many piercing insights. It begins with an episode-by-episode synopsis. I listened over several months, sometimes only a few minutes per day. I considered at times giving up early on. A long listen lay ahead - and I’d seen the series all the way through twice over. But I stuck with it because the synopses went beyond brief recaps. They helped me to see the series in a different light - and to appreciate some elements I’d missed. The book then moves on to conversations with show creator David Chase. The insights keep coming. They are read out by the (very good) narrator rather than Chase himself talking, which is disappointing. But once you get used to it, it works well. The book concludes with articles about the series and interviews with key players - the articles are read out by the narrator. There’s a lot of discussion of the ambiguous final episode: what happens to Tony in the end? Does he die? No definitive conclusions are reached but Chase says the final message is simple: life is precious and can end at any time, and love is the only defence we have. I’ve always felt Tony survives - but spends the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. That’s a living death, and a kind of punishment for his sins. And one day he’ll probably pay the ultimate price - a bullet almost certainly has his name on it. Or he’ll end up in the can… This is obligatory listening for all Sopranos disciples.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great for Sopranos fans that want more

I thoroughly enjoyed this. The episode analysis sections were brief but definitely highlighted the key points and provided insight in places. The final parts of the book were very touching, especially David Chase's farewell to James Gandolfini.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

superb

loved hearing some inside track ,brought back some good memories of 1 of the greatest TV series ever highly recommend to any fans of the sopranos

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

A must listen for any Sopranos fan, great insights and behind the scenes info. Well narrated too

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An essential listen for Sopranos fans.

An essential listen for Sopranos fans. It's like listening to an epic podcast, rich in detail.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Who chooses these narrators?!

Excellent detail but I gave up after 3 hours to buy the paper book, narrator is genuinely unbearable!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful