The Sopranos season 1

The first season of the American crime drama series The Sopranos aired on HBO from January 10 to April 4, 1999. The first season was released on DVD in North America on December 12, 2000, and on Blu-ray on November 24, 2009.

The season introduces DiMeo Crime Family Capo Tony Soprano and his family, as well as his troubled relationship with his mother Livia. Also troubled is his relationship with his Uncle Junior, who becomes locked in a power struggle with Tony after the death of the Crime Family Boss, Jackie Aprile. Tony also begins therapy sessions with Dr. Melfi after suffering a panic attack.

Meanwhile, Tony's daughter Meadow becomes aware of her father's true profession while preparing to get into college, and Tony's nephew Christopher attempts to write a screenplay about his criminal life and anxiously awaits becoming a made man. Due to Junior's plotting of an assassination, Tony also gets embroiled in a plot against childhood friend Artie Bucco, a charming but obsequious restaurateur.

The season won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode "College", as well as several other accolades. James Gandolfini and Edie Falco received numerous accolades for their performances, including winning both Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Main cast

 * James Gandolfini as Anthony "Tony" Soprano (13 episodes), a capo in the DiMeo crime family that begins suffering panic attacks.
 * Lorraine Bracco as Jennifer Melfi (13 episodes), Tony's therapist, to whom he develops an attraction.
 * Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano (13 episodes), Tony's beleaguered wife who struggles with the morality of his work.
 * Michael Imperioli as Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti (13 episodes), Tony's young, ambitious cousin by marriage.
 * Dominic Chianese as Corrado "Junior" Soprano Jr. (11 episodes), a DiMeo capo and Tony's combative uncle.
 * Vincent Pastore as Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero (8 episodes), Tony's best friend and a DiMeo soldier.
 * Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante (11 episodes), a loyal, intelligent soldier.
 * Tony Sirico as Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri (10 episodes), a short-tempered soldier.
 * Robert Iler as Anthony John "A.J." Soprano Jr. (10 episodes), Tony's troublemaker son.
 * Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano (12 episodes), Tony's high schooler daughter who questions her father's occupation.
 * Nancy Marchand as Olivia "Livia" Soprano (11 episodes), Tony's petulant mother.

Recurring cast
• Al Sapienza as Michael "Mikey" Palmice (9 episodes), Junior's loyal soldier.

• Joe Badalucco Jr. as James "Jimmy" Altieri (7 episodes), a capo whose loyalty to the family wavers.

• Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva (7 episodes), Chris's girlfriend.

• Jerry Adler as Herman "Hesh" Rabkin (5 episodes), an old Jewish friend of Tony's father.

• Tony Darrow as Lorenzo "Larry" Barese (5 episodes), the capo of the biggest crew in the family.

• Oksana Lada as Irina Peltsin (5 episodes), Tony's Russian comare.

• George Loros as Raymond "Ray" Curto (5 episodes), an experienced capo and the top choice to replace Aprile as boss.

• Anthony DeSando as Brendan Filone (4 episodes), a friend of Chris's who runs afoul of Junior.

• John Heard as Vin Makazian (4 episodes), a police detective in debt to Tony.

• Kathrine Narducci as Charmaine Bucco (4 episodes), Artie's moral wife who disapproves of his friendship with Tony.

• Paul Schulze as Phil Intintola (4 episodes), a local priest who develops an attraction to Carmela.

• John Ventimiglia as Arthur "Artie" Bucco (4 episodes), Tony's non-mob friend who runs a restaurant.

• Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile (3 episodes), Carmela's best friend and Jackie's wife.

• Michele DeCesare as Hunter Scangarelo (3 episodes), Meadow's best friend.

• Michael Rispoli as Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile (3 episodes), the cancer-stricken boss of the DiMeo family.

• Frank Santorelli as George "Georgie" Santorelli (3 episodes), a dim-witted employee at the strip club Tony runs.

• Matt Servitto as Dwight Harris (3 episodes), an FBI agent investigating the DiMeo family.

• Sal Ruffino as Charles "Chucky" Signore (3 episodes), a soldier in Junior's crew.

• Robert LuPone as Bruce Cusamano (2 episodes), Tony's physician neighbor who takes an interest in his occupation.

• Saundra Santiago as Jeannie Cusamano (2 episodes), Cusamano's wife.

• Vincent Curatola as John "Johnny Sack" Sacrimoni (1 episode), the underboss of the New York-based Lupertazzi family.

Critical response
The first season of The Sopranos was met with wide acclaim, receiving a score of 88 out of 100 on Metacritic, and a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 9.3/10, the latter site reporting the critical consensus as, "The Sopranos smartly runs an emotional gamut, offering detailed character work and riveting suspense while displaying a flair for both comedy and drama." James Gandolfini was widely hailed for his performance, with Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly praising his "magnificently shrewd, wary performance" as Tony Soprano. Deseret News expressed approval for the show's clear insight into the "modern incarnations of family and mortality and ambition."

Marvin Kitman of Newsday wrote, "It's a great show, the best new series of the year. It's so - dare I say it? - original. It catches you off guard. Basically, it's everything I'm always looking for in drama. It's beautifully written, authentic, without the plastic Los Angeles look. The acting is marvelous. It's funny in a darkly comedic way, involving as a soap opera, and quirky. I never quite know what's going to happen, even though the subject matter is by no means unprecedented for television."