Why were we all suddenly watching the Sopranos over lockdown? In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the TV show’s creator David Chase was asked about the rise in popularity of the series and our continued obsession with the show.

Speaking to Chase, journalist Matthew Lynch suggested that the Sopranos had some part in normalising therapy via its powerful depiction of the New Jersey mob boss working through his issues with his mother (among other things). “I also wonder, at times, if that’s why so many people have re-embraced the Sopranos, in the last year and a half, or two years,” he put to Chase.

“That’s a good point,” Chase replied, adding that he’d hoped our re-embracing of the show in recent years was because, well, the show was “good”.

“I do know that therapists had a huge upsurge in male clientele,” Chase said. “They told us that. We were given an award by the American Psychoanalytic Association, and they told us that business was up.”

Chase was also asked about a previous assertion he’d made that the show wouldn’t age well, in part because of the dated tech and cultural references. “A.J. listens to outdated music. The phones are different. That’s the big one for people. TVs are different. I think the first standalone episode, other than the pilot, they were robbing DVD players.”

The interview comes ahead of the show’s Chase-directed prequel, The Many Saints of Newark, that focuses on a young Tony Soprano, played by Michael Gandolfini (son of the late James Gandolfini, who played the mob boss in the OG series).

Steven Van Zandt (aka Silvio) consulted on early cuts of the movie, and it is set to be released in cinemas and on HBO Max in the US on October 1. A UK cinema release is scheduled to follow on October 22. You can watch the trailer below.