‘Sopranos’ Podcast From Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa Still Shooting for April Launch

'Sopranos' fans have been looking forward to a new podcast by the actors who played Christopher and Bobby Baccala. It could still debut in April.

by Eric Schaal

Published on March 22, 2020

2 min read

When writers of The Sopranos needed some comic relief, they frequently turned to Bobby Baccalieri (aka “Bobby Baccala”), the character played by Steve Schirripa. And Bobby’s first appearance on the show provided one of the series’ great laughs.

After learning the terms of his crew’s surrender following the imprisonment of Junior Soprano (Dominic Chianese), Bobby thought he’d sum up the situation for Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his crew. “To the victor belongs the spoils,” Bobby tells the group. (His comment doesn’t go over well.)

Sopranos fans should soon hear how these episodes got made directly from actors and behind-the-scenes crew. Schirripa and Michael Imperioli (who played Christopher Moltisanti and wrote several episodes of the mob series), announced the start of a podcast about the show in February.

According to the pair of actors, the Talking Sopranos podcast will go episode-by-episode through the show and bring in as many of the series’ performers, producers, directors and writers as possible. And, as of the latest update, they’re still shooting for an April launch.

‘Talking Sopranos’ still could kick off in April 2020

Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli attend a benefit event at Madison Square Garden on April 02, 2019. | Michael Loccisano/WireImage

Concert and performance cancellations have become the norm as the world grapples with the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19). And that’s bound to impact live Sopranos events as well. However, podcast production still has a shot in this era of social distancing.

Following the latest checks with Schirripa via social media (March 18-19), the actor sounded hopeful it could move forward with its planned April 2020 launch. However, he couldn’t confirm for sure.

working on it I will announce when I know for sure pal
— Steven Schirripa (@StevenSchirripa) March 19, 2020

Twenty years after the Sopranos premiere on HBO, fans still want to know how things went behind the scenes. They want to read about how Edie Falco began taking her Carmela character home with her and how Schirripa got Gandolfini to laugh so hard during the “Pine Barrens” shoot.

From the sound of their preview, that’s exactly the type of stories Schirripa and Imperioli will tell. So far, this type of Sopranos podcast (featuring two key players and other principals) has not been made.

The podcast will focus on the details ‘Sopranos’ fans want to hear about

Going by the interaction between Schirripa and Imperioli in the trailer, it should be fun to hear their unique takes on the series. As Schirripa points out, Imperioli will be able to offer insight on how the writers’ room worked. (Imperioli wrote five episodes and also worked as consulting producer on “Marco Polo.”)

It won’t be the first podcast featuring Sopranos actors, of course. Though you may not have heard of it, Robert Iler (A.J. Soprano) and Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Meadow Soprano) have been broadcasting a podcast of their own called Pajama Pants since September 2019.

But while that show features two former Sopranos actors and occasionally touches on events surrounding the show’s production, the classic series isn’t the main focus.

Talking Sopranos, on the other hand, should dig into the nitty-gritty of the show. And since they’ll start from season 1 episode 1, we bet it will prompt re-watches from a large number of fans. A lot can change in a month, but here’s to hoping it will arrive in April.

Also see: ‘The Sopranos’: Why We Never Saw the Russian From ‘Pine Barrens’ Again