Often considered one of the greatest television shows of all time, The Sopranos premiered on this day in 1999

There have been uncountable television shows about m*fia, g*ngsters, mob bosses, but very few have been able to leave a lasting impression on the audience's minds. Premiered first on January 10, 1999, The Sopranos was one such television show that gave us an antihero who was loved and hated by the audience simultaneously.

As the show celebrates its 27th anniversary, here are five reasons why you should rewatch The Sopranos at the beginning of the year, or in case you haven’t watched it yet, you should start now.

James John Gandolfini

You have seen him in several films, but most of you aren’t aware of his name, or you always thought of him as a side actor. However, the late great James John Gandolfini was the OG boss before Walter White knocked on your door saying, “I am the danger.”

The late Gandolfini played Tony Soprano, the boss of an Italian-American m*fia group, owned the screen every time he appeared. You hate him, you love him, you feel angry at him, and you also feel sorry for him—a complex protagonist who is tries to balance between right and wrong according to his book of thoughts.

Star cast

You believe only MobLand or Peaky Blinders had a star cast? The Sopranos had its share of star cast too, with actors such as Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese, Steven Van Zandt, Drea de Matteo, and Joe Pantoliano playing crucial roles. Even several other celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, Michael B. Jordan, Paul Dano, Ben Kingsley, Bokeem Woodbine, Robert Patrick, Frank Sinatra Jr., and David Lee Roth, made guest appearances in the show.

Nothing is right or wrong

Don’t we all love shows where the decisions of a character are morally questionable? The Sopranos is one of those earliest television shows that portrayed that there is no idea that is 100 per cent right or evil—not everything can be black and white. People have black, white, grey, and even colourful zones in which they operate, switching between the shades depending on the situation at hand.

Nobody is safe

We all loved or hated Game of Thrones for one reason—the k*lling of characters out of nowhere. The Sopranos did it years ago as the writers took the tough decision of knocking characters off the board. They did so to keep the show unpredictable, not because actors wanted to leave for some reason or another. And that is why rooting for any character in The Sopranos is a tough task. The suspenseful factor of The Sopranos is one of the best seen on a television show.

Comedy of errors

Finally, The Sopranos is also a television show that did not keep it all serious. Several episodes out of 86 through six seasons had fillers or had comedy inserted to keep the show’s storyline going. And given it was a m*fia world, The Sopranos had enough dark comedy that may not be welcomed in today’s woke world. So, in case you are planning to watch, we hope you do not get offended easily.