The F word

Sopranos creator David Chase interviewed by PBS presenter Jim Lehrer in 2001:

Q: Much is being made about the profanity in The Sopranos. How important is that to its success?

DAVID CHASE: It is important. I can't comment as to whether - how important it is to the success of the show - but it is important. I've heard people say, well, you know, they can do all that swearing on HBO. They can show all that violence; they can show all those bare breasts, and I don't believe those are the reasons that the show is a success. I believe you could do this show on a network. The only place you'd have a problem - because you could do it with less violence if you so chose to - you could probably do it with - you wouldn't need to have the Bing dancers be naked - that's not an absolute requirement, but it would lose something only in language, I think. I think language is important.

Q: So it wouldn't be the same program - wouldn't be the same story?

DAVID CHASE: It sounds crazy to say that if you can't say the "f" word it'd be different, but all I can say is that would be the one place where I would have trouble. I'd be writing stuff I thought wasn't accurate. And that I think would filter down - that language thing. I guess language is important to people. I think that language thing would filter down to other aspects of the show and kind of a creeping unreality would get into it.