15 TV Shows To Watch If You Love The Sopranos

There you are, you’ve finally finished “The Sopranos”. If you’re not yet trying to make sense of the finale that broke the Internet, you’re probably trying to figure out what, if anything, could live up to the series you just experienced. Few television series have managed to match its combination of sharp writing, morally complicated characters, and an unsettling ability to make audiences sympathize with terrible people.

Whether you’re staring at the black screen for the first time or just finished your latest rewatch, the cure for that post-“Sopranos” malaise might be closer than you think – maybe even on HBO. Most of the series listed below feature psychologically complex protagonists who lean more toward villains than antiheroes, with criminal activities that threaten to consume their personal lives and those of their families. Others share “The Sopranos’” sinister sense of humor or skepticism about humanity’s innate goodness. These aren’t happy watches by any means – but if you woke up this morning craving cannolis and crime, we’ve got a few shows for you.

No series on this list is more directly in conversation with “The Sopranos” than “Barry.” At times, this latest HBO series can feel like it’s riffing on its predecessor. Where “The Sopranos” asked whether therapy could cure a gangster, “Barry” asks whether art could cure a killer – and arrives at his answer so quickly that he seems to find both attempts at change ridiculous.

This isn’t to say that “Barry” is trying to disrespect or correct “The Sopranos” — rather, it’s trying to ask the audience what happens after someone definitively refuses to change. Morally, Tony’s fate is sealed in the final season, potentially as late as Dr. Melfi’s (Lorraine Bracco) realization in the penultimate episode that Tony might be functionally immune to the therapy. In “Barry,” Bill Hader’s hitman-turned-aspiring actor reaches this point in the first season finale. From that point on, it becomes an exploration of self-sacrifice, of escalation in the absence of accountability, and of how people perform versions of themselves for others.

On that last note, “Barry” is at its funniest and most distinctive when it leans into its satire of the entertainment industry. Even though the comedy largely evaporates in the final season, Hollywood inspires some bits of dark but brilliant humor.

It’s no secret that the entire “Breaking Bad” universe exists because of “The Sopranos.” Tony Soprano changed what viewers were generally willing to accept from their anti-heroes, paving the way for Walter White’s dizzying transformation from high school teacher to meth kingpin. Yet it’s that addictive pace and sense of moral certainty that makes “Breaking Bad” so different from “The Sopranos” that you’d be doing yourself a disservice to expect the same experience from both.

That said, “Better Call Saul” might be the perfect follow-up series for someone who just finished “The Sopranos” — even if they’ve never seen “Breaking Bad.” It’s one of the few shows that is as meditative in its psychological storytelling as “The Sopranos.” Rather than questioning whether or not a person is capable of transitioning from “good” to “bad,” “Better Call Saul” asks who a person is at their core, how they came to be that way, and what it would take for them to finally accept the truth, no matter how ugly it may be. Its restrained approach to the “Breaking Bad” mythos is courageous – but where it may have alienated some fans of the parent series, it’s precisely what should attract fans of “The Sopranos.”

Several of the shows on this list were chosen because they not only share key dramatic elements with “The Sopranos” but also creative DNA. In the case of “Bloodline,” that DNA is Todd A. Kessler, who co-created the Netflix series with Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman. Kessler worked as a writer and producer on “The Sopranos” and co-wrote the Season 2 finale, “Funhouse,” with David Chase.

“Bloodline” is also a great choice for anyone who enjoyed HBO’s recent DC Comics hit “Lanterns.” Kyle Chandler stars alongside Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini and Norbert Leo Butz in this slow-burn crime drama about a respected Florida Keys family rotting from the inside out. Themes of buried trauma, complicated parents and complicity between blood relatives carry over from “The Sopranos,” while Chandler’s troubled lawman resembles a less inspiring Hal Jordan. The series was never a runaway success, and critics were honestly divided on whether the first two seasons were boring or brilliant. What was rarely questioned was the acting – even critics who took issue with the story or pacing praised the performances, particularly those of Kyle Chandler and Ben Mendelsohn.

In terms of creative DNA, few shows have stronger ties to “The Sopranos” than “Boardwalk Empire.” They are to each other what “Succession” is to “Veep”: same network, same sense of drama and humor, similar thematic interests and some of the writers, directors and producers of the old series. These include “Sopranos” director Tim Van Patten and screenwriter Terence Winter, the latter of whom is the creator and showrunner of the series.

It’s essentially “The Sopranos” from the 1920s. “Sopranos” actor and occasional director Steve Buscemi plays Nucky Thompson, a corrupt politician in Prohibition-era Atlantic City. He spends the series navigating and enjoying the criminal underworld of Atlantic City and beyond. The series is set loosely in the actual historical past, meaning Thompson experiences historical events as they happened and meets real figures from the American underworld, such as Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza) and Al Capone (Stephen Graham). This is one of the best historical series HBO has ever made.

“Boardwalk Empire” tends to be overshadowed by “The Sopranos.” Even if it doesn’t have the same lasting cultural impact, it’s still a truly great piece of television.

At first glance, there are significant differences between “Dexter” and “The Sopranos” that need to be addressed immediately. For starters, the Showtime series is much less subtle in every way, to the point where it frequently borders on camp throughout its run. Tony Soprano is a killer who sometimes expresses remorse for his actions – Michael C. Hall’s Dexter Morgan is a serial killer who follows a strict code while making dry puns every chance he gets.

Before you get sidetracked by the specific antihero flavor of “Dexter,” first consider that James Manos Jr. developed the series after writing “College” for the first season of “The Sopranos.” It’s arguably the best episode of the show’s first season — and it’s where “The Sopranos” first tackles one of its most compelling themes: The person you are in private can harm the person you want to become in public. The thrilling yet tragic drama of Tony trying to track down a rat while taking his daughter on a college tour is the very engine that drives the best episodes of “Dexter.” Any “Sopranos” fan with a sense of humor should survive at least season 4.