Introduction The television drama The Sopranos (1999–2007) remains highly celebrated, and is increasingly popular online, years after the broadcast of its finale. Sepinwall aptly summarises its legacy: “it rewrote the rules and made TV a better, happier place for thinking viewers, even as it was telling the story of a bunch of stubborn, ignorant, miserable excuses for human beings” (36). The series follows Italian-American mob boss Tony Soprano as he struggles to balance his domestic and mafia 'family' lives. Tony unusually attempts to navigate his struggles by consulting a psychiatrist throughout the series, allowing the audience to also analyse his psyche. During the COVID-19 pandemic, binge-watching television shows became an integral part of leisure for many. Horeck observes that during the lockdown “binge-watching was recast as a form of self-care” (35). The Sopranos, in a similar fashion to other popular shows, received heightened viewership, being named by GQ as “the hottest show of 2020”. In the article, Unterberger reports that according to data from HBO, the show received a viewership boost of 179%. A sharp increase in viewership has the potential to result in heightened activity in fan spaces online, thus producing a wider array of discourse surrounding the show. Andrews suggests that, during the pandemic, fandoms in general grew more politically intensified, often becoming radical (902). Building on this assertion, this article aims to gauge the prevalence and explain the broader significance of conservative readings of The Sopranos. This research examines politicised identifications with the show based on data collected from The Sopranos fan page (subreddit) on Reddit: r/thesopranos. It aims to answer the question: how prevalent is conservative identification with The Sopranos on the r/thesopranos subreddit, and are these readings supported by the series? This article situates the conservative fan readings within the broader context of the show by highlighting the tension between many of these readings and the show's broader subtext. With a popular text like The Sopranos, the publication of varying political interpretations is to be expected. Audiences interpret the series differently based on their ideals, thereby becoming active creators of the show’s meaning (Sandvoss, Mirror 145). The interest of this article lies in what new conservative audiences are saying and why it matters, but also, more broadly, in underscoring the importance of studying past media and how they can be used to process current political concerns. The article begins by situating The Sopranos within the existing literature regarding its fan culture and ideological interpretations, and examines scholarship concerning the function of Reddit as a platform for fan discourse. It then describes the methodological approach, which combines textual analysis of The Sopranos with a discourse analysis of data gathered from the subreddit. The central analysis examines how fans articulate their conservative interpretations of the show, and illuminates tension between these readings, progressive readings, and the broader subtext of the series. The article concludes by remarking on the broader implications of these ideological readings and how digital fan cultures have the potential to shape the legacy of complex screen texts like The Sopranos. Literature Review The rise of conservative reinterpretations of The Sopranos can be understood through the framework of post-object fandom (Williams). This phenomenon refers to a continuing engagement with a show after it has ended. The Sopranos finished but did not die; instead, its meaning has shifted and is today based on an ever-changing political and cultural context. The fans keep the series alive through online discussions and political appropriation. A good portion of recent literature on The Sopranos focusses on audience perceptions of the series (Beare, “Contemporary Afterlives”; Beare, New Audience), and in some cases attempts to examine the potential for political identification with fans (Beare, “COVID-19”; Samuels). The examined literature also sought to decode broader allegories and particular subtexts (Davies) such as motherhood (Akass) and toxic masculinity (Taylor and Curtis). Before the pandemic, depictions of race (Kocela; Tabasinejad), sexuality (Hibberd), and masculinity (Mullins; Senior) were researched in key literature. However, broader academic discussion of The Sopranos fandom remains sparse, although a comprehensive study by Monaco attempts to redefine prior notions of fan cultures in the context of the show. Monaco refers to the “construction of the fan as a 'good' active (anti-capitalist) subject in contrast to the 'bad' passive consumer” (75). Furthermore, Beare’s The New Audience for Old TV expands on prior literature concerning online fandoms in the post-COVID world. Beare remarks on fan groups and pages dedicated to the series and how they are politicised, highlighting examples like “Socialist Sopranos Memes” on X, and the large variety of contributions to the r/thesopranos subreddit. Beare considers the series as “nominally progressive” in its political nature, which he states implicates the broader ways in which scholars infer the text (2013). Boyle’s work on the politically active fandom of The Handmaid’s Tale examines how conservative and progressive fan interpretations of the show are able to co-exist (135), highlighting the polysemic nature of the series. This provides a useful comparative point for this article’s research, which aims to build on the notion of series polysemy by providing a closer examination of the Reddit posts contextual to the The Sopranos’ subtext. Thereby, it aims to fill a gap in literature examining fan readings of The Sopranos. Recent scholarship on Reddit has attempted to make a clearer sense of its affordances as a platform, including how users often deviate from the moderator's intention of maintaining a space for constructive discourse (Squirrell). Maloney, Roberts, and Graham note Reddit as a strong source for data collection due to it being one of the largest platforms on the Internet for user-generated content, which also demonstrates a high level of free discussion (6). Conversely, it is underscored that the platform privileges a white, middle-class, technologically adept user base, often conservative and misogynistic (7). This notion is shared by Massanari, who suggests that the Reddit algorithm exists to support this toxic culture (129). Chen and McCabe found that while Reddit often facilitates organic political discussion in entertainment subreddits not initially intended to be political, this political discussion is not always productive or “tolerant” (3491). The approach to substantiating assertions made about the fan commentary will be assisted by conceptualising Hall’s reception theory or, more specifically, how The Sopranos is first encoded and then decoded by different viewers. This process concerns “the people who make it”, “the people who watch it”, and the “larger cultural context” (Xie et al. 191). A text has two layers of meaning: “the connotation and the denotation of the image code”, or the “common sense and illocutionary meaning” (191). For instance, when The Sopranos is decoded by the audience, this may be influenced by internal factors such as political tendencies, personal knowledge, and established cultural positions (Xie et al. 193). The reading position of a viewer has the potential to result in an ideological appropriation of the show, allowing one to interpret the series based on their preconceived political beliefs: “as all experiences found by the fan in the fan text coincide with his or her horizon of expectations, the fan text takes on the role of mirror, and thus becomes the banal object of a narcissistic perspective” (Sandvoss, Mirror 145). The Sopranos fans, therefore, become active participants in the creation of the text’s meaning. Concerning online fan cultures, Sandvoss interrogates the idea that online fan spaces function as “collective intelligence” and asserts that they instead tend to function as “echo chambers” (“Enthusiasm” 274). Post-COVID, as binge-watching has been reframed as a “politically productive activity” (Horeck 37), this article uncovers the importance of analysing the political readings of The Sopranos in the online fan space, attempting to better understand politicised readings of the show and their broader implications. Methodology This article employs a combined methodology, consisting of a discourse analysis of politicised readings from The Sopranos subreddit and a respective textual analysis of episodes relevant to the corresponding topic. The research is further substantiated by referring to both Hall’s reception theory and Williams’s post-object fandom in the context of the discourse as outlined in the literature review. This approach enables an effective investigation into how conservative-identifying fans construct meaning from The Sopranos, and how these readings demonstrate tension with both progressive readings and the show’s broader subtext. Data Collection This research utilised purposive sampling to collect fan posts from the r/thesopranos subreddit. Reddit was utilised both for the sake of consistency and its active fan community. The dataset includes approximately 60 comment threads posted between April 2020 and December 2024. The date period was selected due to the surge of interest in the series following the COVID-19 pandemic. Threads were identified using Reddit’s internal search within the subreddit. Some examples of searches include the terms “conservative”, “alpha”, “gay”, and “woke”. Posts were also selected for inclusion based on thematic relevance and high user engagement. Posts were aggregated into two notable themes: the question of Vito’s queerness, and Tony as a masculine, anti-woke hero. These themes were inductively selected for being of overt political significance and for their frequency in the dataset. The themes then became sections of analysis examinating the ways the r/thesopranos users construct and communicate their political identifications with the show. Political disagreements by users were also highlighted; quotes were paraphrased, and the best examples were included in the analysis to represent similar remarks. It is important to note that the included quotes were not all that were contained in the dataset, but are representative examples employed to avoid over-quoting. To protect user anonymity and adhere to ethical research standards, no usernames or names of threads are included verbatim. The focus of the analysis is on discursive patterns, not individual users. Reflecting this, and to further ensure anonymity, content of posts has been paraphrased, or, occasionally, small, unrecognisable quotes have been used for emphasis. The purposive sampling method, focussing on overtly political threads, privileges more explicit ideological debate over everyday fan commentary and is a significant limitation. In addition, it was occasionally difficult to identify whether some user comments were serious or ironic. Finally, the ethical paraphrasing may dilute some nuance in the sampled comments. Considerations were made to be charitable and unbiased in the data-collection process. Analysis The Question of Vito’s Queerness Vito Spatafore’s arc in season six is one of the most politically charged storylines in The Sopranos. Vito’s homosexuality is revealed to his crew, which eventually results in his death. “He had to go”, writes one Reddit user in a thread concerning Vito’s storyline. “Not sure how he thought he’d get away with that”, writes another. On the subreddit, conservative readings often frame Vito’s storyline as an unappreciated detour from the real mafia narrative. One user comments: “it never made sense to me, it didn’t fit the show’s tone at all”. These dismissals implicitly frame The Sopranos as a text that ought to prioritise ‘traditional’ masculinity, treating the queer storyline as an external imposition. These dismissals contrast sharply with progressive interpretations, which foreground Vito’s arc as a critical exploration of toxic masculinity and mafia culture’s embedded homophobia. Other progressive interpreters critique the writers for handling Vito’s arc poorly, where what should have been introspective social commentary became “reduced to jokes”. These ‘jokes’ become reflected in the broader Reddit discourse, where attempts to incite discussion related to the storyline get reduced to homophobic quotes used for amusement: “he’s a faaag” one user slurs, quoting Tony, where he mocks Vito to Dr. Melfi (S6E6). De Stefano remarks that The Sopranos “queered the mafia genre, decentring its typical construction of masculinity as incontrovertibly heterosexual” (6). He situates the Vito storyline as a pointed critique of homophobia, remarking that the inclusion of this storyline and the aftermath of Vito’s death revealed hypocrisies by the gangsters. This reading aligns with the show’s framing: Vito’s arc is a mirror to the mob’s limits of tolerance. Textually, Tony’s initial response to Vito’s queerness is deliberately ambivalent, even pointed out as such by Dr. Melfi in the episode “Live Free or Die” (S6E6). Though he uses homophobic slurs in dialogue, he expresses empathy regarding Vito’s queerness to Dr. Melfi after some hesitancy: “something inside me says … God bless, ah salute … who gives a shit” (S6E6). This challenges conservative readings that frame The Sopranos as validating homophobia. Conversely, Tony’s unwillingness to intervene in Vito’s death reveals the transactional nature of his supposed tolerance. Vito’s arc becomes useful to employ Hall’s negotiated readings; it is a moment where the series can be decoded in divergent ways depending on the audience’s ideological position (Xie et al. 195). Progressive users in the subreddit sometimes foreground this complexity: “he Tony’s fine with it, but he doesn’t protect him from dying. That’s the point”. Troublingly, these introspective readings are often overshadowed by comments steeped in mockery: “he was gay, Vito?” or sympathetic reference to traditional mob codes or rules: “it’s never been allowed”. Another user remarks on Tony being a “strict catholic” who “won’t tolerate homosexuality in his environment”. As Sandvoss (“Enthusiasm” 274) has suggested, online fan spaces often function as echo chambers that result in polarised dialogue rather than in productive discussion. In the case of Vito’s arc, online conservative interpretations become more noticeable both due to their separation from productive discourse and because they resonate with broader culture-war discourse, framing queer inclusion as forced or overly political. Tony as the Anti-Woke, Masculine Hero The most visible conservative framing positions Tony Soprano as representing an anti-woke masculinity. In these interpretations, Tony’s rejection of political correctness is reframed as a virtue to aspire to in the contemporary culture wars. In a thread concerning “today’s wokeness”, one user remarks that “Tony wouldn’t last a day”, while another asserts that: “no snowflakes could handle him speaking his mind now”. These readings are simplistic, valorised, and detach Tony from the textual critique embedded in his character. Like conservative reclamations of other antihero narratives, such as Joker (Hammonds), the included readings elevate Tony as a symbol of resistance to contemporary social change. Williams observes that in a post-object fandom, these reinterpretations are shaped more by the ideological context of the moment than by the production-era discourses of the text itself (4-8). Textually, the ‘anti-woke Tony’ framing also ignores the show’s continual undermining of his self-image. For instance, the episode “College” (S1E5) juxtaposes his moral hypocrisy with his role as a father, while “Kennedy and Heidi” (S6E18) captures his emotional volatility and capacity for cruelty. These moments interrogate conservative fan readings of Tony as a stable ideological model. Progressive users occasionally point this out: “he’s not necessarily anti-woke, he’s simply a narcissist who doesn’t care about anyone at all”. The therapy scenes with Dr. Melfi further complicate Tony’s alleged ‘anti-woke’ being. His recurring admissions of depression, anxiety, and existentialist thinking subvert the conservative readings of Tony as an unshakable strongman. Reception theory can again be employed to explain the divergence, where conservative viewers may adopt a dominant-hegemonic reading, valorising Tony’s rejection of progressive norms; progressive viewers, on the other hand, often adopt oppositional readings, interpreting his bravado and the therapy commentary as a critique of patriarchal fragility. Reddit threads that explicitly debate Tony’s masculinity often demonstrate these competing readings. For instance, in one thread, a user insists that: “Tony is what men should be. A straight shooter, no bullshit”, to which another responds: “he’s also a murderer who screws everyone over, including his family. Not something to aspire to, really …” These debates illustrate that while conservative voices may appear commonly in certain threads, they are continually challenged, revealing that the subreddit exists more as a contested space than an ideological echo chamber. The forum is clearly not a single ideological monopoly, but a contested interpretive space that reflects broader culture wars. Discussion The findings in the analysis exemplify the polysemic nature of The Sopranos and the active role of audiences in creating a show’s meaning. Recent television literature has come to a similar conclusion with the more inherently political series The Handmaid’s Tale, where Boyle outlines that despite the “political uptake” of the show, it is polysemic enough to allow for conservative interpretations (135). Therefore, with the less political The Sopranos, the presence of these conservative readings is unsurprising. In considering both Hall’s negotiated readings and Sandvoss’s work on online fandom (Mirror, “Enthusiasm”), it becomes clearer how a morally ambiguous and dense text like The Sopranos generates diverging readings. Yet, it was unexpected quite how frequently contested these readings were, considering the critiques in literature regarding Reddit’s often homogenised, reactionary userbase (Massanari; Maloney, Roberts, and Graham 7). The conservative readings of The Sopranos contained in the analysis run parallel to similar conservative appropriations of other antihero narratives, notably Joker as shown by Hammonds. The analysis revealed that the subreddit discussions existed not as an uncontested conservative takeover, but as an ongoing debate. Williams’s concept of post-object fandom provides one explanation as to why these politicised readings appear long after the show’s original broadcast. In the streaming era, where The Sopranos is available for immediate viewing, new and returning audiences engage with the text in contexts removed from its initial production era. Conservative readings of The Sopranos do not emerge in a vacuum; the fandom, today, reactivates the finished text to process current culture war issues. As The Sopranos is revisited, politically polarised audiences mine these texts for evidence that supports or resists their views based on today’s political situation. Overall, it could be argued that these threads are not merely fan discussions but serve as broader political commentary using the series as a vessel to validate one’s own beliefs. The overall significance of these conservative readings lies in how they reflect shifting uses of past media in the streaming era. The Sopranos is not merely remembered; it is actively reinterpreted in ways that speak to current political identification. For scholars of television and fandom, the r/thesopranos subreddit thus becomes a valuable case study in understanding how political discourse shapes the ongoing afterlife of complex media texts. Conclusion This article has examined how conservative readings of The Sopranos circulate on the r/thesopranos subreddit, highlighting how these interpretations coexist in tension with both progressive readings and the overall subtext of the series. The analysis situates the politicised interpretations of the series within the framework of post-object fandom, making sense of the Reddit posts through Hall’s reception theory and more specifically, through negotiated readings (Xie et al. 195). The continuing reinterpretation of The Sopranos illustrates the enduring political potency of legacy television in the streaming era. The significance of these findings lies in the ways in which older television texts remain politically alive. The Sopranos, close to 20 years after its finale, continues to be a site of ideological negotiation, with new audiences reading it through the lens of contemporary political conflict. These engagements reveal how complex media texts operate as cultural resources for different ideological projects long after the context of their initial production. Further research is needed into how fans are remediating The Sopranos using new platforms, for example extending this analysis to TikTok, which is a hub of video edits, commentary, and debate featuring The Sopranos. Research into political fan discourse of other popular shows with similar themes, such as The Wire or Breaking Bad, could contextualise the findings of this article more broadly. Such work would contribute to a better understanding of how legacy television texts have the potential to be mobilised in the modern culture wars. References Akass, Kim. "The Sopranos (HBO, 1999—2007)." Mothers on American Television. Ed. Kim Akass. 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