On January 10, 1999 the first episode of mafia drama The Sopranos aired in the United States, introducing the world to a cast of beloved characters, heralding an era of what we now called "prestige television" and cementing HBO as a cultural force.
Three-and-a-half million people caught the premiere and soon each episode was drawing an aggregate audience of more than 10 million people. Restaurant owners in New York would eventually complain of "the Soprano effect" when they lost trade on Sunday nights as patrons headed home to watch the show.
