My steps to set up this analysis:

1. Download HBO "Sopranos" viewership data from Wikipedia using Listly.io, a web scraping service.

2. Analyze the data using Microsoft Excel.

3. Create data visualization in Power BI.

My Hypothesis:

My hypothesis about "Sopranos" viewership was that TV viewership for each season would be highest for the season premiere and the season finale. I expected the average # of viewers per episode to increase over time as the series gained popularity.

Disclaimer:

The "Sopranos" Wikipedia page did not have a complete analysis of the viewership in Season 1, so that dataset is incomplete. When I did the season-by-season viewership analysis, I did not analyze Season 1 specifically. For the overall "Sopranos" viewership stats, I did include viewership stats for the 3 episodes in Season 1 that we have stats for ("The Sopranos (Pilot)", "Isabella," and "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano.")

My Findings for Sopranos Viewership Over All Seasons:

• The most popular "Sopranos" episode was "For All Debts Public and Private," the season premiere for season 4, with 13.43 million viewers.
• Of the top 5 "Sopranos" episodes of all time (by viewership), 4 were either season finales or season premieres, confirming my hypothesis that these would be popular:
  • "For All Debts Public and Private" (Season 4, Season Premiere): 13.43 million viewers
  • "Whitecaps" (Season 4, Season Finale): 12.48 million viewers
  • "Two Tonys" (Season 5, Season Premiere): 12.14 million viewers
  • "Made in America" (Season 6, Season and Series Finale): 11.9 million viewers

All seasons started out with a high average # of viewers, which decreased over the course of the season and then increased again for the season finale.

• Average # of viewers per episode: 8.61 million
• Median # of viewers per episode: 8.62 million

Comparing Average Viewership per Season (excluding Season 1)

The average viewership per season increased until season 4, and then decreased again for season 5 and 6.

Average Viewers per Episode:

• Season 2: 6.51 million (lowest avg)
• Season 3: 8.75 million
• Season 4: 10.95 million (highest avg)
• Season 5: 9.8 million
• Season 6: 8.25 million

Areas for Further Research

There are other ways to analyze the far-reaching impact of "The Sopranos," besides just live viewership stats. These are just a few examples:

• Viewership for the prequel, "The Many Saints of Newark," released in 2021 by HBO
• Awards and nominations received for "The Sopranos" - list on Wikipedia totals 91 wins and 308 nominations.
• Number of articles written about "The Sopranos" in various news outlets - The New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, etc.
• Google Trends for searches related to "The Sopranos" or "The Many Saints of Newark" -- especially compared to other shows that were popular during the early 2000s.
• Subreddit membership and frequency of Reddit posts relating to "The Sopranos," compared to other shows from the early 2000s.
• Number of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok posts compared to other shows from the early 2000s.

Comparing social media action for "The Sopranos" vs. shows coming out this year would not be appropriate because social media has boomed so significantly in the time since the series premiere. But if we are still talking, posting, making memes, and uploading videos related to "The Sopranos," and we are not doing the same for other shows from the early 2000s, this speaks to the legacy and far-reaching impact of the show.