David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, is finally getting his flowers. The writer, producer and director has the spotlight in HBO’s upcoming documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, which showcases David’s career and his thought process behind the show that “changed television,” as the doc’s trailer points out.
The Sopranos starred the late James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano: an Italian-American mobster based in New Jersey, who struggles to juggle his personal life with his criminal business.
Hollywood Life has rounded up all the details about the upcoming Sopranos documentary, below.
What Is ‘Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos’ About?
The two-part documentary stars David as he recollects on creating the six-season series. In the trailer, the filmmaker noted that everyone was telling him, “You should write a show about your mother and yourself. And I thought, ‘Well, who’s going to watch that?’ Then, I realized, ‘Maybe if [the character] was, like, a really badass guy.’”
Documentarian Alex Gibney analyzes the behind-the-scenes elements that went into producing the show.
‘Wise Guy’ Trailer
The doc further reveals that “nobody else” other than HBO wanted the series, David said in the trailer. Although he was already a “TV veteran,” others in the business knew he didn’t have experience as a director.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” David admitted in another part of the trailer. “But I knew it was gonna be about money and death.” Other creatives pointed out that the subject matter in David’s pitch was controversial at the time, but they went ahead with it.
Upon being asked whether he saw himself in the character Tony, the teaser cuts away and focuses on David admitting, “The more I did The Sopranos, I began to realize that the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on. It’s always mesmerized me.”
When Is the ‘Wise Guy’ Documentary Release Date?
Both parts of the doc will air consecutively on HBO on September 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET. It will also be available to stream on Max.