David Chase (born David DeCesare) once aspired to be a rock musician, but after studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York and acquiring a master’s degree from Stanford University, he sought work in feature films. Despite some success in that arena, most of his work has been in television where, after 25 years as a writer, producer, director, and creator of some of the medium’s most highly acclaimed series, he achieved “overnight” success as creator, writer, producer, and sometimes director of HBO’s The Sopranos.

Chase’s first writing credit was the adaptation of his story The Still Life as the low-budget horror film Grave of the Vampire (1972). Turning his attentions to television, his story The Hunter was adapted as the television film Scream of the Wolf (ABC, January 16, 1974). He worked as a story consultant/story editor for ABC’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–75) and as a story consultant for Switch (CBS, 1975–78). As supervising producer for The Rockford Files (NBC, 1974–80) starring James Garner, Chase also wrote several episodes and in 1978 shared the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series with fellow Rockford producers Stephen J. Cannell, Meta Rosenberg, and Charles Floyd Johnson. The series was also awarded a 1980 Golden Globe for Best Television Drama Series. That same year, Chase’s teleplay for Off the Minnesota Strip (ABC, May 5, 1980) garnered him his first Emmy Award for writing as well as an award from the Writers Guild of America. Chase made his directorial debut on the 1985 revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (NBC, 1985–86), directing two episodes he wrote himself (“A Very Happy Ending,” February 16, 1986, and “Enough Rope for Two,” March 9, 1986). The new version of the classic anthology series lasted only one season but aired two additional seasons on the USA network.

In the fall of 1988, Chase created, executive produced, wrote, and directed the critically acclaimed drama Almost Grown (CBS), but lackluster ratings caused the show’s cancellation after only nine episodes. The series, about a couple on the brink of divorce, incorporated Chase’s love of music, using popular songs to trigger flashbacks relating various points in the couple’s 30-year relationship. Subsequent television projects continued to enhance his reputation as a producer of quality dramas. With John Falsey and Joshua Brand he produced NBC’s I’ll Fly Away (1991–93), the story of a southern African-American woman in the midst of the 1950s civil rights movement. The series received numerous critical awards, and in 1993 Chase won the prestigious Golden Laurel from the Producers Guild of America as producer of the year. That same year he succeeded Falsey and Brand as executive producer of the popular Northern Exposure (CBS, 1990–95). In 1996 Chase wrote, produced, and directed the second TV film based on The Rockford Files (with James Garner reprising the title role), The Rockford Files: Crime and Punishment (CBS, September 18, 1996).

But it is his work as the creator, executive producer, writer, and sometimes director of HBO’s The Sopranos, the story of a New Jersey mobster’s relationship with his “families,” that has brought Chase’s name to the forefront of Hollywood. Like much of Chase’s previous work, The Sopranos focuses on character rather than situation or action. The series is heavily influenced by his own fascination with 1930s gangster films and his New Jersey childhood. The characters are based on an amalgam of people he has known and he admits the family dynamics sometimes mirror his own. Although it depicts an organized crime family, the characters deal with human issues common to all families.

The Sopranos premiered on HBO on January 10, 1999. In its first season, the series began with a small cult following that eventually pulled in nearly 10 million viewers each week. The series has garnered Chase numerous nominations and awards, including one from the Directors Guild of America for directing the series’ pilot episode, a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama Series, and Peabody Awards for quality television (2000 and 2001). In its first season, The Sopranos literally dominated the Emmy category Writing for a Drama Series (four out of five nominations, including one for Chase). In 2001 The Sopranos received 22 Emmy nominations, the third-highest number for any series in a single year, and a record-breaking number for a cable series.

Concerned that the quality of the show might deteriorate over time, Chase created a self-imposed limit of four seasons for the series. However, the show’s enormous popularity, coupled with Chase’s intrigue with new storylines, prompted him to agree to a fifth season. Chase has plans to return to feature films and is currently slated to write and direct feature films for HBO and Sony Pictures Entertainment.