Warner Bros. Under Fire for Major 'Sopranos' Change

Warner Bros. Discovery is under fire from fans of The Sopranos, after its entities HBO and Max launched celebrations of the classic show's 25th anniversary with a new venture on social media platform TikTok.

Regularly listed among the greatest TV shows of all time, The Sopranos followed the story of mafia boss Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini, who struggled to balance his family life with his criminal activities and, as a result, sought professional counseling.

The show, which first aired in 1999, remained hugely popular during its six seasons on the air, before coming to an end in June 2007. In the almost two decades since the show ended, it remains a much-talked-about and highly revered series.

As such, it comes as little surprise that HBO and Max are going big to mark the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos, which debuted on January 10, 1999.

Among the numerous initiatives to mark the anniversary is streamer Max debuting deleted footage on the app, as well as bringing back some scenes that had been shown before being locked away in the vault.

HBO has also launched an official Sopranos TikTok account, which features the Sopranos in :25 series. It comprises condensed 25-second recaps of all of the show's 86 episodes. As of press time, 18 clips have been shared on the account.

This particular initiative has sparked ire among a number of Sopranos fans, who have questioned whether such a move is appropriate for the classic brand.

"Sopranos Is NOT For The TikTok Generation," one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Another responded to the news by posting a 23-second clip of a MADtv parody of The Sopranos.

Taking direct aim at WBD CEO David Zaslav, another detractor said that the executive "putting THE SOPRANOS on TikTok is... Not great."

"Warner Bros. doesn't know [what] marketing is," opined one X user, while another complained: "Our attention span is so damaged."

"Zoomers can't watch a good show unless its deformed into 25 second clips," read another post, in reference to Generation Z. "We're done."

"Imagine dedicating a decade of your acting career to putting on one of the most believable performances in television just so a broke and desperate Warner Brothers can chop it down into an hour for ad revenue," another chimed in.

While the complaints came in thick and fast, a number of other X users spoke out in defense of the move by HBO.

"I can't see how it's an issue," wrote one, who added that they "just watched Atlanta because I saw a clip of it on Twitter and I'm happy for it."

Expressing doubt in the appeal, another said that the upside might be more Sopranos fans in the long run.

"I don't understand what anyone would gain from watching it like this," they stated. "Hopefully some new people will watch the full series because it is a MASTERPIECE."

"Some people aren't interested in watching the show, but would like to know the gist of it if other people are talking about it," another suggested. "Or perhaps someone they know wants to watch it with them and they need to get caught up real fast."

The celebration of The Sopranos' 25th anniversary will also include such events as cast reunions, pop-up dining experiences, and special podcast episodes.

Zach Enterlin, executive VP of brand, content and creative of streaming marketing for HBO and Max, said in a statement: "The Sopranos left an indelible imprint on the global entertainment culture and was instrumental in defining HBO as the destination for groundbreaking, award-winning programming.

"The many ways we will honor this 25-year milestone will allow fans to celebrate the Soprano legacy and pay tribute to the characters that have had such an enduring impact."