It will never not be funny to me how HBO, historically the Toxic Masculinity and Violence network, greenlit Sopranos for Toxic Masculinity and Violence reasons and then instead of just making a violence-filled shallow and flashy mob story glorifying the worst versions of stereotypical 'masculinity' you could possibly imagine David Chase made an excellent and nuanced examination of the social ailments and anxieties of the early 21st century told through the lense of the mob and after that HBO had to start trying to make actual good shows bc the audience expected it from them and now they're the king of prestige TV or whatever and its all because Chris Albrecht, a guy who once strangled a female subordinate in his office during a workplace disagreement, looked at Tony Soprano and went "he's just like me fr"