“The Sopranos” are joining a new family.
Cable network A&E has snapped up the syndication rights to the Emmy-winning HBO series, paying a record sum for six seasons — 78 episodes’ worth — of the show. Episodes are set to begin airing on A&E in fall 2006.
The price tag, according to the showbiz trade papers, was as much as $2.5 million per episode — the highest per-episode fee for a syndicated show ever. It surpasses the recent deals that Spike TV made for repeats of “CSI: NY” ($1.9 million per episode) and Bravo and USA did for “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” ($1.92 million).
It’s likely that A&E will do some editing on the series, which contains frequent profanity not heard on ad-supported cable as well as occasional nudity and occasionally some graphic violence. Even discounting those factors, the network will have to make some trims to episodes if it wants to allow for the typical 16 minutes of commercials in an hour-long show.
“The Sopranos” won the Emmy for best drama series last year, and stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco have three Emmys for their portrayals of New Jersey mob captain Tony Soprano and his wife, Carmela. The show’s sixth (and most likely final) season is scheduled to premiere on HBO in 2006.
Credit: Zap2It
