TV

The show has become notorious for its long hiatuses. Whereas most TV programs are off the air for 3–5 months in between seasons, and HBO dramas are usually 9 months, because of their shorter episode order, The Sopranos' production breaks have been consistently longer. This is mainly because of scheduling conflicts for the actors and David Chase's requests to HBO for time to develop storylines. Chase has said in the past that he intended the show to last only one or two seasons (hence the shorter gap between the first two seasons as compared to later ones), but its success led to a lengthier run, and thus he had to write most of the later episodes from scratch.

• Seasons 1–2: 9 months
• Seasons 2–3: 11 months
• Seasons 3–4: 16 months
• Seasons 4–5: 16 months
• Seasons 5–6: 21 months
• Seasons 6 part 1–6 part 2: 10 months