Before The Sopranos revolutionized television and forever reshaped antihero dramas into a cultural phenomenon, its creator, David Chase, apparently wasn’t too happy about actually seeing it aired, at least not right away. In a candid interview, the artistic director admitted that his original plan for the iconic HBO series wasn’t about making history. It was about making more money.

HBO, at that time, was still testing the waters with original scripted content. The network was yet to deliver a truly genre-defining drama, and The Sopranos, for the most part, looked like a risky gamble – a dark, violent story about a mobster in therapy.

Chase, who had a background in network television and had grown disillusioned with traditional storytelling formats, wasn’t convinced HBO would greenlight the series but aimed to churn out more money to fuel his filmmaking ambition.

David Chase’s secret scheme: how the Sopranos director...