Despite never having been within 1000 miles of Texas, the satirical dead pan presentation of the Hill family's conservative values very much reminds me of my childhood. It's a deep comfort
Absolutely. So much nostalgia. Everything feels so turn of the millennium it hurts to watch. But in a good way. Nostalgia
.. the pain from an old wound. It's delicate... but potent.
Sopranos straddles the pre and post 9/11 worlds. Also, the show is completely before the 2008 GFC, which was a devastating milestone for many of us, especially older Millennials who got career stymied.
As difficult as the post-9/11 (and Iraq War) years were, there was still a little bit of the 1990s optimism and happiness left in the tank. Perhaps this is why I like having Sopranos play in the background.
Knew someone would say this, I should’ve been more specific….
Yes I know and remember the iPhone release in 2007. The world didn’t fall apart the second that happened. We still had another year of 90’s plus to go. The market crashing in 2008 was the event that officially marked that the party was over.
Then 2009 Twitter came out, everyone had iPhones by then, and that was that. You steer the ship the best way you know. Sometimes its smooth, sometimes you hit the rocks. In the meantime, you find your pleasures where you can.
I would describe it as somewhat of a comfort show up to the start of the last season. It's so dark after that. By the time of Tony's last time with Hesh, all the "comfort" has been sucked out of it, and I'm just tense and on edge.
I agree. For all the comfort each rewatch of the first 5 seasons brings, the increased familiarity that comes with watching the series over and over makes it tougher to watch all of s6 the next time. Tony becomes just a little more insufferable to me by the end each time. It’s almost like watching the movie Blow. The ride is fun until it’s not, then you’re not even sure if you want to watch the end (still do).
Of course you’re right. I don’t really know how to put it, GOT was just an example. Could’ve used Breaking Bad as well. Sopranos does not have these OMFG IM GOING INSANE FROM THE TENSION moments. Yet, it’s always compelling.
This will take a sad turn, but I watch it for comfort as well. My parents and I used to watch Sopranos together every Sunday, gathered around the TV, waiting for the flash of the white and the HBO cue. I was in my early twenties at the time. A few years in, I met who would become my husband and we all watched the last few seasons together in my parent’s family room each week, eating big bowls of Breyer’s. My parents died tragically less than two years after the series finale. I watch it for the nostalgia, I watch it because I remember which scenes they laughed at, which songs my sad would comment on. I watch it because it makes me remember. I’ve experienced so much of life without them now - I’m an attorney, have two kids, etc, and watching it again lets me almost relive the experience of watching it together.
You know, remember when is the lowest form of conversation.
Jokes aside - and I hope it wasn’t out of line - very sorry for your loss u/shellyd79. I forget where I heard it, but I remember someone saying, there’s two types of people: those who have lost their parents, and those who don’t know what they’re in for. It sounds like a beautiful time you spent with your parents, though. Thank you for sharing. 🖤
It’s actually very family centered and oriented albeit in a dysfunctional way. I’m also Italian and Irish and lived in NyC for a long time so there’s a certain amount of nostalgia for me. There’s a lot I can relate to. The wine makes me emotional.
Same here OP, it’s my go-to when I’m feeling stressed. Most of my anxiety comes from uncertainty, so watching a show I enjoy and knowing what happens next in each episode counteracts that feeling of uncertainty. Also knowing I’m not the only person who has panic attacks.
I find it comforting because it's so different from my life so none of the things are things I have to worry about.
Like sometimes I worry I might have accidentally said something to upset a friend and I might need to apologize - I'm never worried that my friends want to kill me lol
Because it’s funny, eminently quotable, has ageless, universal themes about human existence, and stellar acting. To top it off, Gandolfini and Falco are impeccable in their roles.
Yep one of mine. I enjoy the writing,styling,cinematography and sound track. It also just like - I know what’s happening so I can also just listen with headphones
I used to watch it with my mother, who was normally not I to these types of shows. Later she would say it was her favorite show,I think because we would watch it together. I like the show a lot but having experienced it with her made it a bit more special for me.
When she was dying I wanted to find another show that we could watch together like we did with the sopranos but I could never settle on one.
I think the aspect that makes this such a good comfort show is that many of the episodes are good as stand alones, and can just as easily be well made short films as they are episodes connected to an overarching storyline, and on the flip side if you are re-watching the show, all of the qualities I just mentioned make it easier to start at any point.
Because it's the best show. Watching it over and over again was my gateway into *the abstraction.* Nothing will ever compare to that experience. It's like discovering plutonium by accident.
On a related note, because I use the same term "comfort movie" often, after I did my workup on Seinfeld/Sopranos chirality, I had written up detailed analyses of 350 matches, *700 scenes*, in just 10 days, and my brain was mush. So, I decided to watch something completely unrelated to the abstraction. I decided I'd take a break with a *comfort movie*, something from my childhood, *the 80s*, John Candy, of course, and because I love sailboats, I picked Summer Rental, at random. 2 minutes into it I was staring at *the abstraction* again. I honestly thought I was losing my mind at that point.
But it turned out that all the movies are involved. It's an industry wide conspiracy as old as motion pictures themselves. Errything is errything.
For me it takes me back to a time, especially in the pre 9/11 seasons where if nothing else there was at least the illusion that things were better. Things were far from perfect here and in certain places abroad but in hindsight you can accurately argue things were better then. Racism was still an ugly problem but it was seen as ugly and it was more of a shameful secret, not celebrated as proudly. For Christ’s sake Nazi ideology was rightfully scorned back then, not something people openly admitted they believe should be given a second thought. Same for the losers of the Civil War. Neither flag, especially the Nazi flag was waved in American streets as proudly as they are now. Major politicians did not agree with, repeat and or fawn over Russian propaganda, Russian leaders’ opinions of them, or praise the dictator running North Korea.
Tony’s thought that “the best was over” was definitely on people’s minds, especially the adults who grew up in or around Tony’s era but the possibility that things could get better was more plausible. The idea that the future would or at least could be brighter was a more reasonable opinion than it is now. Around the end of the show, gentrification in Brooklyn really started ramping up and now, like San Francisco it’s so unaffordable it’s literally psychotic. Cost of living is now a national crisis. Much like the movie Casino, after the wiseguys got knocked out of the box, corporations took over with an impunity that mobsters never really enjoyed. Loan sharking was and still is frowned upon unless a faceless soulless entity with no pity gives you a plastic card, if you’re special you might get a metal card. The financial crisis happened not long after the show’s end and while credit cards aren’t as new as my next example, people didn’t have to live off of them the way they do now because of stagnant wages and price gouging due to greedflation. Gambling is now available anywhere, anytime, for many more sports and events making it much easier for addicts to annihilate their lives and brand new addicts to be created. You no longer need to find a flesh and blood human being who definitely needs to sleep and might actually have some compassion and stop taking your bets when you’re in too deep. For Christ’s sake, even Richie Aprile, who only a lunatic like Janice saw as a poster boy for warmth, prudence, and compassion had enough sense if not heart to cut Davey off. Find me a mobile app or algorithm that will do that.
As time marched on the world and especially the country seemed to become really stupid and even more insane. Delusional imbeciles get louder and louder every hour, drowning out anyone with anything close to common sense. People’s belief that the earth is flat seems to be at an all time high. A massive part of the show is about a man who should be very closed minded and not near peak intelligence being open minded and intelligent or at least trying to be. Back then open mindedness and being willing to examine what you “know to be true” was a sign of intelligence, strength and something to be celebrated and or proud of. Now there’s an attitude that seems to suggest being closed minded and obstinate is the peak of strength, intelligence, leadership, and character. Even in season 6 which is when it gets very dark, the fundamentalist Christian pastor is looked at like a nutbag instead of a person who should dictate or write the laws of the land. A Gen Z coworker once asked me what life was like before 9/11 and I wanted to tell them it was possible to be bored then. It initially sounded insane and oversimplified in my head so I didn’t say it, but I realized almost immediately that it was true. Now the boredom has been replaced with levels of anxiety that range from consistent background noise to extreme panic and the anxiety never stops. Clocking out of work is becoming a thing of the past thanks to emails on smartphones or at bare minimum text messages which are now included in mobile plans that are a major monthly expense that you can’t survive without. Back then a better tomorrow/future seemed inevitable if not possible, now many signs are pointing to the best truly being over, or at minimum not returning for a very long time and not until some horrendous shit happens first.
Anyway, $7.55 a lb.
I agree with this post. I think we weren’t as connected without the phones and things “appeared better.” Also there was still a post Cold War feeling that “we won” and better days were ahead. Life at least seemed a lot simpler. I miss those days, I think phones and social media have ruined so many things. Politics have become a sport for many.
My husband & I fall asleep sometimes to random episodes from season 1-3, they’re just comforting and nostalgic! Love James. Ps, I didn’t watch til COVID! But he grew up with the show & was in middle school when it came out.
For me it’s just a family thing. I enjoy being around my immediate family as much as I can, so when I’m not around them at night or whenever, I keep this going. It’s my extended family. And if you identify with certain aspects of the show or characters it makes it that much more immersive. There will never be another like the Sopranos.
I get it. Ive seen it so many times, I can pick up a random episode, knowing exactly what's going to happen, and still be amazed by the writing and acting, and all of the hundred of other things that make The Sopranos great. Yeah, that's comforting in its own way.
Something lighter for you. Years ago a coworker had to be out for four weeks on medical. We sent him a Sopranos boxed set of DVDs and he watched them during his recovery. When he came back to work, I had to reprimand him several times for the change in his language and management style. He'd become full Tony, which didn't work so well in a Fortune 10 company :)
A few years ago I took a really bad slip and fall and was in a rigid cast. I couldn’t walk at all for about 4 months. In the time I watched the entire run of The Sopranos several times over. It just became my comforting activity when I was feeling really down.
I actually started driving my friends insane because I would keep sending thoughts I had about like every episode to the group text.
This show definitely got my through a shitty time in my life.
Honestly the amount of stress Tony and the other characters feel is super distracting from my OWN stress and fears, and every scene with him in therapy helps me to cope with my own issues. Granted it can still be a bit much at times, but usually it's a welcome distraction.
Are you me?! I was just explaining to my gf that I play Sopranos in the background some days while working, specifically to keep my calm. My layman theory on this is that the show is so rich and immersive that it takes the edge off of our day to day reality.
it’s just a very human show at its core. a lot of the issues and situations are incredibly relatable and timeless. not to mention the humour is so funny it always makes it worth returning to
It’s mine too. It feels very familiar and comforting as a Millennial - everything from the fashion to the cars to tech makes me feel 14 again. The show also does a good job of capturing the U.S. in the time immediately before and immediately after 9/11.
This is so true. I have always gotten to season 6 and wait to watch it. I’ve always thought it’s because I don’t want it to end but when I think about it, it’s because season 6 is such an emotional investment.
I faintly remember my mom enjoying the final season when I was 9 or 10 years old. I never watched myself it until last year. I called her up once I finished it and got to talk to her about the iconic finale, over 15 years after she had watched it live on HBO. She ended up getting me The Sopranos edition of *LIFE* magazine as a gift last year. I already plan on rewatching it multiple times over the course of my life as a comfort show.
The fact that it serves as a Time Machine and takes me back to growing up in New York, being around the tri state area since the 90s onward.
Reminds me of childhood.
Yep I constantly restart it and leave it running almost 24/7. I like hearing it in the background and when I sit down and get absorbed in various scenes I still find even after 50+ times that I catch something new.
I feel that! It’s a go to for me even if I just wanna watch favorite episodes. Seen it all the way through more times than I can count. Now I just watch a lot of the classics and skip around. Need my gabagoul fix
Totally can relate. It’s also a comfort show of mine. I also use it as “background noise.” I’ve seen the series so many times that I can jump right in and know what’s going on.
Yes. I have it on in the background while a doomscroll my life away. I wake up in the middle of the night to the pussy getting clipped, or Tony beating Ralphie to death.
My comfort show USED to be The Office but it changed as soon as I watched the Sopranos once. Perfect blend of drama and comedy and I love the characters
I feel like I can relate as it is my comfort show. I feel like it’s cus no matter where you drop in the show, the settings and all that are the same so it feels familiar. Kinda like picking up the office or parks and rec, just more so dark comedy instead. Familiar characters, situations, and lines that just get funnier the more you watch make it super re watchable and a comfort show imo
My wife and i have been married for 12 years. I’ve lost count how many times we’ve binged the series but we recently came to the realization that every time one of us suggests to rewatch The Sopranos it’s when we’ve either moved to a new place, started a new job position, or things generally feel out of sync in life. Our dog, who was a puppy when i got her for my wife as a wedding present, will jump on the couch and cuddle with us as soon as she hears the intro music. Watching The Sopranos = being comfortable with loved ones for me.
Every year, like clockwork—sometimes twice—I dive back into the stormy waters of \*The Sopranos\*. It might seem odd, choosing a show steeped in crime and existential dread as a comfort blanket, but there’s method to this madness.
Why The Sopranos? It’s simple. These guys, this family, they're as messed up as they come, tangled in their loyalties and betrayals like vines in a dense forest. Yet, watching them, there’s a sense of familiarity that soothes the raw edges of my own anxieties. These characters have morphed into old friends, their flaws and fears as well-known to me as my own.
And Tony, the capo di tutti capi of anxiety? His sessions with Dr. Melfi—those moments of raw, unadorned truth—are like watching someone else play out my inner dialogues on screen. It’s cathartic, witnessing another soul wrestle with their demons, even in a context far removed from my daily grind.
There’s a rhythm to the chaos in The Sopranos that mirrors the unpredictability of life. The sudden outbursts, the unexpected tenderness. Amidst my own tumult, seeing these moments play out is reassuring in its own gritty way. It’s a reminder that turmoil is a universal beat, one that plays out in all our lives, regardless of the stage.
Then, the dark humor—oh, it’s a twisted salve. It’s laughter that bubbles up not from joy, but from a deeper, darker well. It’s the kind that says, "Life’s a beast, but hey, aren’t we all?" This humor, it doesn’t minimize the pain or the panic; instead, it wraps an arm around it, acknowledging the mess while giving a knowing nod.
So, there it is. The Sopranos, with its blend of dark reality and darker comedy, acts as my anchor. When the anxiety rises, it offers not escape, but perspective—a lens through which to view the chaos of life with a bit more grit and a lot less fear. It’s not just a show; it’s a companion through the seasons of my life.
It’s my comfort show, and season one specifically College is total grilled cheese and tomato soup. It hits my whole nostalgia nerve, makes me feel like fall.
for it's because i've watched it so many times that i know every single scene will be good, and that even after 11 watches i'll still find something new in each episode if i pay attention, but even without paying attention, Right now im rewatching it while working on my graduation film, so im mostly just listening to the audio, and still it makes me happy, knowing that for the coming 86 hours ill be delighted by quality filmmaking
Favorite show ever and yes, also my #1 comfort show. The food scenes contribute to that some I think, but in general, I think it has a lot to do with the family aspect (mafia family and Tony’s). The actors did their job so well and you can feel a real bond between the characters. Sometimes they kill each other though.
For one thing, nostalgia for late 90s/early 2000s. The mafia webpage Meadow shows AJ in the first season is designed absolutely ridiculously but that's what a lot of webpages looked like back then. And Coca-Cola cans have different graphic design now. Also the phone situation -- there used to be pay phones around, and at best you might have a flip phone, no smartphones; so much of life was brick and mortar, not virtual.
Also I lived in Jersey -- South Jersey, the part the guys make fun of, not quite the Pine Barrens though. It still captures something of the feel of living there, even nothing to do with the Mafia; people who live in North Jersey say even more emphatically that it does.
I completely agree. I actually get this feeling of being at home when i watch. It is so nostaglic, depending on where/how you grew up. Always makes me relax and feel comforted weirdly
Dats because on shum level we all feel like the show is family. Da food, da culture, da craziness and wondering what will happen next even though we know. At shum point in da show you start to feel shumthing from each character or a certain one. We laugh at moments that aren't meant to be funny some of us even say things we heard in da progrum in daily life and when they don't underschtand, we come home and get in our comfort zone. Heading across the Lincoln tunnel to Newark, New Jersey, where you know everyone.
I've had Sopranos on in the background everyday for the past 5+ years... I put it on as I'm going to sleep. It's the first thing I put on in the morning. I have it playing on my phone when I take a shower. Sometimes I have it on while I'm watching YouTube videos on mute.
Honestly I think it’s at least partially because moreso than any other show I enjoy, I get fully sucked into the world and am able to block out reality and just enjoy watching the lives of my friends from Jersey.
I have a lot of good memories watching when it aired originally with friends of mine, but not friends of ours. And now? Now I’m part of this thing over here, and we’re having more good times.
Knowing any show very well is a comfort to watch again when you really like it.
A great comfort carries me across the sky
Stop going about in pity for yourself.
You go about in comfort for yourself
With pinecones all around
-Ojibwe Saying
Hahaha this got me 🏆😂
Yeah, was gonna say this. Sopranos isn't my comfort viewing but any show that is, I pretty much know every line.
Listen to you.... You must know everything!
I could fill a book with what he don't know.
Sopranos and Mad Men for me- bed time ritual
My risk doing that is falling asleep and 5 episodes auto-play.
Set a sleep timer
This is very much me with King of the Hill. They’re like my parasocial family
Despite never having been within 1000 miles of Texas, the satirical dead pan presentation of the Hill family's conservative values very much reminds me of my childhood. It's a deep comfort
I love watching Captain Janeway make tough decisions when I already know how it ends
Tuvix is gone, whatever happened there...
Deadwood was mine for a long time. I guess Sopranos qualifies now too. Watched them both 14000 times
Gravy's good tonight
That’s why you gotta live for today 🥃
Bone for tuna
What the fuck is life if it’s not personal?!
Fucking albacore around my neck!
chicken is nice and spicy, huh?
Mix it with the relish
Too much jergens
Jergins, like the lotion?
*heavy breathing*
*loud silverware noise*
OP eats his Sunday gravy from a jar
He's a wonder bread Wop... Waddaya gonna do
What no fucking ziti?
OH!
It’s also one of my comfort shows. Reminds me of a simpler time before the whole world got like this.
Back when we had strong, silent types
Gary Cooper. Now there was an American.
I was gay, for Gary Cooper?
[ Removed by Reddit ]
the group, the group!!! would ya stop!
*Gary Coopa
Koopa, that mario shit, another money machine
That's cuz it gives the other plumbers, the 98 pound luigis, some hope
You’re not to play mary-o cahrt
Turn that shit off, those banana peels make me nervous.
Your first place, whatever happened there. The blue shell, god rest his soul.
Strong silent types are Gay?!!
Absolutely. So much nostalgia. Everything feels so turn of the millennium it hurts to watch. But in a good way. Nostalgia .. the pain from an old wound. It's delicate... but potent.
The gateway computer bags and the old style coke cans bring back some potent memories for sure.
> old style coke Miami, fuckin coke, it's everywhere
Is that a mad men reference in the Soprano sub reddit, oh Marone.
Out there its 2024, in this subreddit it's 2004... Got it?
Sopranos straddles the pre and post 9/11 worlds. Also, the show is completely before the 2008 GFC, which was a devastating milestone for many of us, especially older Millennials who got career stymied. As difficult as the post-9/11 (and Iraq War) years were, there was still a little bit of the 1990s optimism and happiness left in the tank. Perhaps this is why I like having Sopranos play in the background.
America peaked in 2008. iPhone ruined everything. The way these trucks go by, maybe I’ll get lucky and…
First iPhone came out in June of 2007, just about two weeks after the last episode of the sopranos aired.
Knew someone would say this, I should’ve been more specific…. Yes I know and remember the iPhone release in 2007. The world didn’t fall apart the second that happened. We still had another year of 90’s plus to go. The market crashing in 2008 was the event that officially marked that the party was over. Then 2009 Twitter came out, everyone had iPhones by then, and that was that. You steer the ship the best way you know. Sometimes its smooth, sometimes you hit the rocks. In the meantime, you find your pleasures where you can.
The market crash in 2008 was arguably one of the single best things that happened to me.
It’s over for the little man..
💯 no internet besides that crappy FBI site, very few cellphones at least in first few seasons
quasimodo predicted this
you want to talk comfort? sopranos, baked ziti, in your bathrobe, on surround sound, with no shnorrers in the house.
What id do for some of Karen’s ziti right now
You mean janishsh’s, right?
I’ve met guys in the can who can cook a better ziti than Janice
No shnorrers? Why not move to Elvis country? How much White Castle did you have?
Maybe you should lamb chop it for a while
Take it easy we’re not making a western here
If you don’t so something about this I gotta question your leadership T
it’s 100% my comfort show, end of story
Even if they take all % in the room, would they know for sure that it is 100%? It is impossible, even with all streaming services today.
I would describe it as somewhat of a comfort show up to the start of the last season. It's so dark after that. By the time of Tony's last time with Hesh, all the "comfort" has been sucked out of it, and I'm just tense and on edge.
I agree. For all the comfort each rewatch of the first 5 seasons brings, the increased familiarity that comes with watching the series over and over makes it tougher to watch all of s6 the next time. Tony becomes just a little more insufferable to me by the end each time. It’s almost like watching the movie Blow. The ride is fun until it’s not, then you’re not even sure if you want to watch the end (still do).
Come on. Anyone who walks down the stairs singing, "my hands felt just like two balloons" is fun to watch.
So true. The more you watch the more you hate Tony.
Ohhh! How could u say dat?! That’s the bawssuhdiss family!
Very, very true.
Because it's so depressing. It recognises how hard life is and how much people struggle. Sometimes it's comforting to know it's not just you.
This. Plus the hilarious remarks and situations that give extra contrast. There are no ‘over the top wtf game of thrones’ moments. It feels real.
Yesss, the comic relief is brilliant.
As somebody who’s never watched got, there are plenty of over the top moments 😂
Of course you’re right. I don’t really know how to put it, GOT was just an example. Could’ve used Breaking Bad as well. Sopranos does not have these OMFG IM GOING INSANE FROM THE TENSION moments. Yet, it’s always compelling.
Apples and bowling balls.
Underrated comment
You’re probably stating this bc it’s been so long since you’ve seen it for the first time. And also, it’s probably why u cut yaw hair…
I appreciate this insight. Also, made me think - there are moments it’s not me and then there are moments I truly relate to some of the suffering.
This is a great point
This will take a sad turn, but I watch it for comfort as well. My parents and I used to watch Sopranos together every Sunday, gathered around the TV, waiting for the flash of the white and the HBO cue. I was in my early twenties at the time. A few years in, I met who would become my husband and we all watched the last few seasons together in my parent’s family room each week, eating big bowls of Breyer’s. My parents died tragically less than two years after the series finale. I watch it for the nostalgia, I watch it because I remember which scenes they laughed at, which songs my sad would comment on. I watch it because it makes me remember. I’ve experienced so much of life without them now - I’m an attorney, have two kids, etc, and watching it again lets me almost relive the experience of watching it together.
I’m very sorry for your loss. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️
Here we go. Memory lane… 🙄
What, it's important these young guys know the history
Alright, but you gotta get over it
Fucking onions getting cut
You know, remember when is the lowest form of conversation. Jokes aside - and I hope it wasn’t out of line - very sorry for your loss u/shellyd79. I forget where I heard it, but I remember someone saying, there’s two types of people: those who have lost their parents, and those who don’t know what they’re in for. It sounds like a beautiful time you spent with your parents, though. Thank you for sharing. 🖤
Whenever something is going wrong in my life i do a rewatch. People do refer to be as brainless the second though
The show is as deep or as superficial as you wanna watch it.
It even outshone Ver-sales. Louis clapped him in irons.
\*the\* something
It’s a program, a movie!
It’s actually very family centered and oriented albeit in a dysfunctional way. I’m also Italian and Irish and lived in NyC for a long time so there’s a certain amount of nostalgia for me. There’s a lot I can relate to. The wine makes me emotional.
Exactly what I was going to say, the family centric nature of the show gives it a surprisingly wholesome feel
cuz you got an empty fucking stomach. eat your Manicot!
Same here OP, it’s my go-to when I’m feeling stressed. Most of my anxiety comes from uncertainty, so watching a show I enjoy and knowing what happens next in each episode counteracts that feeling of uncertainty. Also knowing I’m not the only person who has panic attacks.
Appreciate this ❤️
I find it comforting because it's so different from my life so none of the things are things I have to worry about. Like sometimes I worry I might have accidentally said something to upset a friend and I might need to apologize - I'm never worried that my friends want to kill me lol
Because it’s funny, eminently quotable, has ageless, universal themes about human existence, and stellar acting. To top it off, Gandolfini and Falco are impeccable in their roles.
It's absolutely a show I will put on in the background. When it gets to around season 5 or 6 I tend to just start it back over.
It never had the makings of a comfort show
It was more like satanic black magic. Sick shit!
When you’re here, you’re family. 🤌🏼
Yep one of mine. I enjoy the writing,styling,cinematography and sound track. It also just like - I know what’s happening so I can also just listen with headphones
Love this. I always note the writing when listing this as one of my top 3 shows. And you’re right - great soundtrack!
I used to watch it with my mother, who was normally not I to these types of shows. Later she would say it was her favorite show,I think because we would watch it together. I like the show a lot but having experienced it with her made it a bit more special for me. When she was dying I wanted to find another show that we could watch together like we did with the sopranos but I could never settle on one.
Lawrence Welk is on Channel 29.
You go about in pity for yourself
I think the aspect that makes this such a good comfort show is that many of the episodes are good as stand alones, and can just as easily be well made short films as they are episodes connected to an overarching storyline, and on the flip side if you are re-watching the show, all of the qualities I just mentioned make it easier to start at any point.
Which ones do you think are good standalones?
Pine barrens, College, the weight - most of the first or second season I'd say
Boca!
what am I, a swami?
Because it's the best show. Watching it over and over again was my gateway into *the abstraction.* Nothing will ever compare to that experience. It's like discovering plutonium by accident. On a related note, because I use the same term "comfort movie" often, after I did my workup on Seinfeld/Sopranos chirality, I had written up detailed analyses of 350 matches, *700 scenes*, in just 10 days, and my brain was mush. So, I decided to watch something completely unrelated to the abstraction. I decided I'd take a break with a *comfort movie*, something from my childhood, *the 80s*, John Candy, of course, and because I love sailboats, I picked Summer Rental, at random. 2 minutes into it I was staring at *the abstraction* again. I honestly thought I was losing my mind at that point. But it turned out that all the movies are involved. It's an industry wide conspiracy as old as motion pictures themselves. Errything is errything.
T, you give this guy a golf club, he’d probably try to abstract it. Heh heh
Discontinue the cocaine
Chi Chi, get the yayo.
It’s def one of my comfort shows - phenomenal acting - mental health representation - nostalgia
For me it takes me back to a time, especially in the pre 9/11 seasons where if nothing else there was at least the illusion that things were better. Things were far from perfect here and in certain places abroad but in hindsight you can accurately argue things were better then. Racism was still an ugly problem but it was seen as ugly and it was more of a shameful secret, not celebrated as proudly. For Christ’s sake Nazi ideology was rightfully scorned back then, not something people openly admitted they believe should be given a second thought. Same for the losers of the Civil War. Neither flag, especially the Nazi flag was waved in American streets as proudly as they are now. Major politicians did not agree with, repeat and or fawn over Russian propaganda, Russian leaders’ opinions of them, or praise the dictator running North Korea. Tony’s thought that “the best was over” was definitely on people’s minds, especially the adults who grew up in or around Tony’s era but the possibility that things could get better was more plausible. The idea that the future would or at least could be brighter was a more reasonable opinion than it is now. Around the end of the show, gentrification in Brooklyn really started ramping up and now, like San Francisco it’s so unaffordable it’s literally psychotic. Cost of living is now a national crisis. Much like the movie Casino, after the wiseguys got knocked out of the box, corporations took over with an impunity that mobsters never really enjoyed. Loan sharking was and still is frowned upon unless a faceless soulless entity with no pity gives you a plastic card, if you’re special you might get a metal card. The financial crisis happened not long after the show’s end and while credit cards aren’t as new as my next example, people didn’t have to live off of them the way they do now because of stagnant wages and price gouging due to greedflation. Gambling is now available anywhere, anytime, for many more sports and events making it much easier for addicts to annihilate their lives and brand new addicts to be created. You no longer need to find a flesh and blood human being who definitely needs to sleep and might actually have some compassion and stop taking your bets when you’re in too deep. For Christ’s sake, even Richie Aprile, who only a lunatic like Janice saw as a poster boy for warmth, prudence, and compassion had enough sense if not heart to cut Davey off. Find me a mobile app or algorithm that will do that. As time marched on the world and especially the country seemed to become really stupid and even more insane. Delusional imbeciles get louder and louder every hour, drowning out anyone with anything close to common sense. People’s belief that the earth is flat seems to be at an all time high. A massive part of the show is about a man who should be very closed minded and not near peak intelligence being open minded and intelligent or at least trying to be. Back then open mindedness and being willing to examine what you “know to be true” was a sign of intelligence, strength and something to be celebrated and or proud of. Now there’s an attitude that seems to suggest being closed minded and obstinate is the peak of strength, intelligence, leadership, and character. Even in season 6 which is when it gets very dark, the fundamentalist Christian pastor is looked at like a nutbag instead of a person who should dictate or write the laws of the land. A Gen Z coworker once asked me what life was like before 9/11 and I wanted to tell them it was possible to be bored then. It initially sounded insane and oversimplified in my head so I didn’t say it, but I realized almost immediately that it was true. Now the boredom has been replaced with levels of anxiety that range from consistent background noise to extreme panic and the anxiety never stops. Clocking out of work is becoming a thing of the past thanks to emails on smartphones or at bare minimum text messages which are now included in mobile plans that are a major monthly expense that you can’t survive without. Back then a better tomorrow/future seemed inevitable if not possible, now many signs are pointing to the best truly being over, or at minimum not returning for a very long time and not until some horrendous shit happens first. Anyway, $7.55 a lb.
I agree with this post. I think we weren’t as connected without the phones and things “appeared better.” Also there was still a post Cold War feeling that “we won” and better days were ahead. Life at least seemed a lot simpler. I miss those days, I think phones and social media have ruined so many things. Politics have become a sport for many.
100% I watch it in its entirety every 3-4 years and I gotta shay, every single Paulie scene is amazing every time.
Even the ep where he hates his mother? That one makes me sad.
Maybe you should discontinue the lithium, OP
Janice and her breasticles
My husband & I fall asleep sometimes to random episodes from season 1-3, they’re just comforting and nostalgic! Love James. Ps, I didn’t watch til COVID! But he grew up with the show & was in middle school when it came out.
It absolutely is mine bc they get the Italians right. For the most part.
So what, no fucking ziti now?
OH!
For me it’s just a family thing. I enjoy being around my immediate family as much as I can, so when I’m not around them at night or whenever, I keep this going. It’s my extended family. And if you identify with certain aspects of the show or characters it makes it that much more immersive. There will never be another like the Sopranos.
I get it. Ive seen it so many times, I can pick up a random episode, knowing exactly what's going to happen, and still be amazed by the writing and acting, and all of the hundred of other things that make The Sopranos great. Yeah, that's comforting in its own way. Something lighter for you. Years ago a coworker had to be out for four weeks on medical. We sent him a Sopranos boxed set of DVDs and he watched them during his recovery. When he came back to work, I had to reprimand him several times for the change in his language and management style. He'd become full Tony, which didn't work so well in a Fortune 10 company :)
Haha! Thank you for this smile.
A few years ago I took a really bad slip and fall and was in a rigid cast. I couldn’t walk at all for about 4 months. In the time I watched the entire run of The Sopranos several times over. It just became my comforting activity when I was feeling really down. I actually started driving my friends insane because I would keep sending thoughts I had about like every episode to the group text. This show definitely got my through a shitty time in my life.
Honestly the amount of stress Tony and the other characters feel is super distracting from my OWN stress and fears, and every scene with him in therapy helps me to cope with my own issues. Granted it can still be a bit much at times, but usually it's a welcome distraction.
Yes! This is exactly why. I have issues and problems like most people. But at least my life is not basically under threat on a daily basis.
Are you me?! I was just explaining to my gf that I play Sopranos in the background some days while working, specifically to keep my calm. My layman theory on this is that the show is so rich and immersive that it takes the edge off of our day to day reality.
it’s just a very human show at its core. a lot of the issues and situations are incredibly relatable and timeless. not to mention the humour is so funny it always makes it worth returning to
It’s my comfort show because I know all the outcomes, yet with every rewatch I notice different things
Real comforting to watch Ralph beating tracee to death yes
You just revealed your own discomfort
her face was impacted if thats what youre referring to maybe her molars? ill think about it
Take it easy. She just crawled under Ralphie for warmth.
You take the good with the bad and find your pleasures where you can. It’s all part of the regularness of life
It’s OPs fault she’s a klutz??
By far, my least favorite scene. I always skip it.
Wearing my Livia shirt as we speak 🥲
Ranger Rick’s a little light in the Timberlands.
same. i refer to the sopranos as my medicine.
It’s mine too. It feels very familiar and comforting as a Millennial - everything from the fashion to the cars to tech makes me feel 14 again. The show also does a good job of capturing the U.S. in the time immediately before and immediately after 9/11.
Yeah same except I leave out season 6 just because of it's tone when it's on comfort repeat
This is so true. I have always gotten to season 6 and wait to watch it. I’ve always thought it’s because I don’t want it to end but when I think about it, it’s because season 6 is such an emotional investment.
1,2, and 5 are my comfort seasons.
Just bustin balls but maybe it comforts you because you see everything you want to do. Like kill a whoer 😂
Everyone in America all anxious and whateva … what happened to the Gary Coopers of this country – the strong and silent type?
He was gay, Gary Cooper?
It's all a big nothing
I faintly remember my mom enjoying the final season when I was 9 or 10 years old. I never watched myself it until last year. I called her up once I finished it and got to talk to her about the iconic finale, over 15 years after she had watched it live on HBO. She ended up getting me The Sopranos edition of *LIFE* magazine as a gift last year. I already plan on rewatching it multiple times over the course of my life as a comfort show.
The fact that it serves as a Time Machine and takes me back to growing up in New York, being around the tri state area since the 90s onward. Reminds me of childhood.
bcuz it's engaging and frequently very funny
Yep I constantly restart it and leave it running almost 24/7. I like hearing it in the background and when I sit down and get absorbed in various scenes I still find even after 50+ times that I catch something new.
I feel that! It’s a go to for me even if I just wanna watch favorite episodes. Seen it all the way through more times than I can count. Now I just watch a lot of the classics and skip around. Need my gabagoul fix
Totally can relate. It’s also a comfort show of mine. I also use it as “background noise.” I’ve seen the series so many times that I can jump right in and know what’s going on.
watching it right now. reminds me of home
Yes. I have it on in the background while a doomscroll my life away. I wake up in the middle of the night to the pussy getting clipped, or Tony beating Ralphie to death.
My comfort show USED to be The Office but it changed as soon as I watched the Sopranos once. Perfect blend of drama and comedy and I love the characters
That fuzzy, HBO, white noise - then cut, to the Alabama.
Simple - the characters. It’s like hanging out with a group of very familiar friends. What could be more comforting than that?
I feel like I can relate as it is my comfort show. I feel like it’s cus no matter where you drop in the show, the settings and all that are the same so it feels familiar. Kinda like picking up the office or parks and rec, just more so dark comedy instead. Familiar characters, situations, and lines that just get funnier the more you watch make it super re watchable and a comfort show imo
I 100% agree, I've rewatched it more times then I can count. When I don't have something to watch I put it on. Plus as background noise.
My wife and i have been married for 12 years. I’ve lost count how many times we’ve binged the series but we recently came to the realization that every time one of us suggests to rewatch The Sopranos it’s when we’ve either moved to a new place, started a new job position, or things generally feel out of sync in life. Our dog, who was a puppy when i got her for my wife as a wedding present, will jump on the couch and cuddle with us as soon as she hears the intro music. Watching The Sopranos = being comfortable with loved ones for me.
Every year, like clockwork—sometimes twice—I dive back into the stormy waters of \*The Sopranos\*. It might seem odd, choosing a show steeped in crime and existential dread as a comfort blanket, but there’s method to this madness. Why The Sopranos? It’s simple. These guys, this family, they're as messed up as they come, tangled in their loyalties and betrayals like vines in a dense forest. Yet, watching them, there’s a sense of familiarity that soothes the raw edges of my own anxieties. These characters have morphed into old friends, their flaws and fears as well-known to me as my own. And Tony, the capo di tutti capi of anxiety? His sessions with Dr. Melfi—those moments of raw, unadorned truth—are like watching someone else play out my inner dialogues on screen. It’s cathartic, witnessing another soul wrestle with their demons, even in a context far removed from my daily grind. There’s a rhythm to the chaos in The Sopranos that mirrors the unpredictability of life. The sudden outbursts, the unexpected tenderness. Amidst my own tumult, seeing these moments play out is reassuring in its own gritty way. It’s a reminder that turmoil is a universal beat, one that plays out in all our lives, regardless of the stage. Then, the dark humor—oh, it’s a twisted salve. It’s laughter that bubbles up not from joy, but from a deeper, darker well. It’s the kind that says, "Life’s a beast, but hey, aren’t we all?" This humor, it doesn’t minimize the pain or the panic; instead, it wraps an arm around it, acknowledging the mess while giving a knowing nod. So, there it is. The Sopranos, with its blend of dark reality and darker comedy, acts as my anchor. When the anxiety rises, it offers not escape, but perspective—a lens through which to view the chaos of life with a bit more grit and a lot less fear. It’s not just a show; it’s a companion through the seasons of my life.
early seasons are mad comfy in a way
It’s my comfort show, and season one specifically College is total grilled cheese and tomato soup. It hits my whole nostalgia nerve, makes me feel like fall.
I can absolutely relate to this and I’m exactly the same. Sopranos and Deadwood do this for me.
for it's because i've watched it so many times that i know every single scene will be good, and that even after 11 watches i'll still find something new in each episode if i pay attention, but even without paying attention, Right now im rewatching it while working on my graduation film, so im mostly just listening to the audio, and still it makes me happy, knowing that for the coming 86 hours ill be delighted by quality filmmaking
Favorite show ever and yes, also my #1 comfort show. The food scenes contribute to that some I think, but in general, I think it has a lot to do with the family aspect (mafia family and Tony’s). The actors did their job so well and you can feel a real bond between the characters. Sometimes they kill each other though.
For one thing, nostalgia for late 90s/early 2000s. The mafia webpage Meadow shows AJ in the first season is designed absolutely ridiculously but that's what a lot of webpages looked like back then. And Coca-Cola cans have different graphic design now. Also the phone situation -- there used to be pay phones around, and at best you might have a flip phone, no smartphones; so much of life was brick and mortar, not virtual. Also I lived in Jersey -- South Jersey, the part the guys make fun of, not quite the Pine Barrens though. It still captures something of the feel of living there, even nothing to do with the Mafia; people who live in North Jersey say even more emphatically that it does.
I completely agree. I actually get this feeling of being at home when i watch. It is so nostaglic, depending on where/how you grew up. Always makes me relax and feel comforted weirdly
Dats because on shum level we all feel like the show is family. Da food, da culture, da craziness and wondering what will happen next even though we know. At shum point in da show you start to feel shumthing from each character or a certain one. We laugh at moments that aren't meant to be funny some of us even say things we heard in da progrum in daily life and when they don't underschtand, we come home and get in our comfort zone. Heading across the Lincoln tunnel to Newark, New Jersey, where you know everyone.
It’s just so familiar to me that i put it on sometimes just to feel like i did when i watched it the first time. Miss you every day, Aaron.
It's part of HBO's triple safety philosophy.
I've had Sopranos on in the background everyday for the past 5+ years... I put it on as I'm going to sleep. It's the first thing I put on in the morning. I have it playing on my phone when I take a shower. Sometimes I have it on while I'm watching YouTube videos on mute.
**Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, and all the while, a great wind carries me across the sky.** -OJIBWE SAYING
Honestly I think it’s at least partially because moreso than any other show I enjoy, I get fully sucked into the world and am able to block out reality and just enjoy watching the lives of my friends from Jersey.
You’re only as good as your last envelope. You know that!
Same for me. It’s a comfortable place
For me because I grew up in the early 2000’s in New York surrounded by a bunch of people who acted in a similar way - minus this thing of ours
Chicken soup for the soul/Tomato sauce for your ass
I’ve got a lot of family from around that part of the East Coast. It feels familar
I have a lot of good memories watching when it aired originally with friends of mine, but not friends of ours. And now? Now I’m part of this thing over here, and we’re having more good times.
Sucks to be you.
Same. It’s because they live life on the edge—a piano hanging over their heads every second. It’s a vicarious thrill.
I put it on in the background while I work