For the creator of The Sopranos, the golden age of series is over: “I’m being asked to lower the level!”

David Chase is not kind to today’s TV.

While The Sopranos blow out 25 candles these days, the creator David Chase is clearly not in the mood to party.

In a recent interview with the Times UK, Chase bluntly proclaimed the end of the golden age of television. Even more, he deplores the new approach of studios and broadcasters, who are less interested in high-quality productions, such as The Sopranos and others Mad Men, The Wire Or breaking Bad for whom he had opened the way.

“Yes, it’s the 25th anniversary, so of course it’s a celebration.”begin David Shorebefore putting away streamers and party favors: “But maybe we shouldn’t see it like that… Maybe we should think of it as a funeral… We’re back to square one! They are going to advertise again...”

Without really saying it, David Chase points the finger at major streamers such as Netflix and Prime Video, which are opening up to new ad-funded models. A return to old TV, according to the creator of the Sopranowhich goes against prestige HBO-style productions, dramas “intelligent“, for an audience of subscribers eager to see something other than simple entertainment. The “famous available brain time” is thus deplored by Chase who continues, annoyed:

“And I’ve already been told to lower the level of what I write…”

In other words, the dramas of the golden age, now too ellitistic, risk disappearing according to him.

David Chase is currently working on a new crime series, around a prostitute, forced to join the witness protection program. Originally in development at FX, the series would have difficulty coming to fruition. The Times reports that the show is in its “third version” and after several meetings, the channel’s executives reportedly told David Chase “this unfortunate truth: it’s too complex for today’s viewers !”

The screenwriter asks: “Who is this really for? I guess everything is created for shareholders these days! As the human race advances, we are multitasking beings. Your phone is a symptom of that. Who can really concentrate? Your mother may be dying and you are by her hospital bed and you are receiving calls. We seem confused and the public can’t keep their minds on anything now. So we can’t produce anything ( as a series) that makes too much sense, demands too much attention and forces the audience to concentrate. As for the streaming executives? It’s getting worse. We’re back to square one. So this 25th anniversary of Soprano, it’s a funeral. Something is dying…”