Do mobsters like The Sopranos?
Situated just outside the elite stature of New York City’s Five Families — the organized crime dynasties Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese — New Jersey’s DeCavalcante crime family achieved their own form of immortalization in David Chase’s prestige HBO drama, The Sopranos. This makes many questions whether The Sopranos is based on a true story.
While The Sopranos drew inspiration from many real-life mafia stories, as well as reflected the romanticization of organized crime as an entertainment genre, the DeCavalcante crime family’s name revisits time and time again when discussing the series’ connection to true crime. The fate of many Sopranos characters align directly with the rotating heads of the DeCavalcante family. Members of the organized crime operation can even be heard praising the series in one of several FBI recordings obtained via sting operation.
Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on January 18, 2024: The Sopranos, which is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is still considered a classic television series. A staple of HBO decades ago and highly influential to this day, the critically acclaimed David Chase TV show was far more than a mere mob story. Not only did the series go beyond its genre trappings, but it also drew from several real-life crooks involved with organized crime. Ironically, one of these families ended up loving the show just as much as everyone else who watched.
As the name suggested, David Chase’s The Sopranos was about an organized crime family (actually titled the DiMeo crime family) that operated in the New Jersey area. Engaged in various crimes — from racketeering to outright murder — this crew was constantly in flux and at war with both rival gangs and itself. The patriarch and protagonist was Tony Soprano, who came into power despite the presence of his Uncle Junior. Making up his crew are the likes of his “nephew” Christopher Moltisanti, the cackling, wisecracking Paulie “Walnuts” ” Gualtieri, his later-introduced cousin Tony B. and the Godfather movie series-quoting Silvio Dante.
The crimes on The Sopranos and the emotional toll they take on the characters are rarely glamorized, with the cast’s psychopathic tendencies put on full display. Likewise, Tony is shown having as much dysfunction in his home life as he does on the streets. His rebellious Meadow learns of his criminal activity and reactions accordingly, his wife Carmella enjoys the fruits of her husband’s lifestyle as long as it suits her, and their son AJ (Anthony Soprano, Jr.) is a veritable failure in most endeavors. The series emphasized the “drama” aspect of a crime drama, which is what made The Sopranos such a hit. Nevertheless, some of the show’s best elements were derived from a real-life troupe of criminals.
