What’s the first TV theme song that pops in your head immediately after hearing HBO’s static noise intro? Regardless of what you’re actually about to watch, I’m guessing you have a song you instantly anticipate.
For me, it’s Woke Up This Morning by Alabama 3, the theme song for The Sopranos. So while I was glued to my TV during Super Bowl LVI on Sunday – like just about every other American sports fan — absolutely nothing captured my attention like Chevrolet’s Sopranos-themed ad for the 2024 Silverado EV, its first all-electric pickup.
I’ll admit I was half-heartedly watching the commercials — I’d seen several of this year’s prior to the big game anyway — but within the literal first second of hearing The Sopranos‘ theme song, Chevy had my full, undivided attention for the 60-second spot.
And then for a few more minutes as I rewatched it a handful of times.
Now, I’m not about to go out and buy a Silverado, electric or otherwise. But I can’t stop thinking about the brilliance and near-perfection of this ad.
It features Jamie-Lynn Sigler reprising her role as Meadow Soprano, as she recreates her father Tony’s famous Manhattan-to-New Jersey commute to the theme song during the show’s opening credits. Except, obviously, she’s in Chevy’s new electric truck.
This version of Meadow has notable Carmela vibes, but they’re subtle. She’s wearing multiple gold rings and a tennis bracelet, and she removes her sunglasses and drives with the attitude of a mob boss.
Of course, she’s channeling Tony, played by the late James Gandolfini. Replacing his cigar with a lollypop, she catches a glimpse of One World Trade Center in her side mirror while traversing the industrial path into New Jersey neighborhoods, zooming past Satriale’s Pork Store.
About the ad, Sigler told PEOPLE:
“Whenever we do anything with Sopranos, your first thought is always Jim,” she says. “He was, particularly, Robert and I’s biggest supporters and biggest fans, so there were many mentions of him.”
“His presence was very much felt throughout it all, of course, because anything we ever do having to do with Sopranos, he is there,” she continues. “And just the thought of that opening sequence with him, it’s so iconic. He always drove that Chevy Suburban everywhere. It’s how we close our eyes and picture Tony Soprano.”
In the spot, Meadow pulls up to an electric charging station, getting out of the car exactly like Tony did in his driveway at the end of the opening credits. Enter Robert Iler, who played Tony’s son, A.J.
On the surface, it’s a nice on-screen moment for two fictional characters and who actors who Sigler says are “still best friends.” But diehard Sopranos fans will recall from the end of the series a lost and struggling A.J. who develops concerns for the environment and is particularly in favor of electric cars.
But as Sigler and Iler reprise their roles from the iconic show, the ad raises questions about what happened to Meadow and A.J. in the final and shocking Sopranos moments at Holsten’s before Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ abruptly cuts and the screen goes dark. The last we see of them, Meadow is struggling to parallel park outside the restaurant, while A.J. joins Tony and Carmela at a table inside.
The controversial ending is still talked about 15 years later, but is there more to their stories in this ad? Does it mean they survived? And they’re fine? They lived?
Last year, Sopranos creator David Chase revealed to The Hollywood Reporter how he imagined Tony death’s, though he doesn’t go as far as to say it happened right there at Holsten’s — though it’s almost implied. And, as the Detroit Free Press noted, Chase helped with the spot.
But maybe I’m reading too far into the ad. Maybe it’s nothing more than that. Maybe, despite actually liking the show’s ending, my subconscious still hopes for a definitive answer on what exactly happened to Tony, Carmela, Meadow and A.J. after following them so intensely for six seasons.
Maybe, it’s simply another reminder that 23 years after The Sopranos‘ premiere, it’s still as iconic as ever. And we’re still thinking about that ending.
