TORONTO – Look for a marketing blitz to begin later on this month as Movie Central and The Movie Network gear up for the sixth – and last – season of The Sopranos, which will launch March 12.
The key difference this time around for the two pay channels – and Canadian cable operators – is that the popular HBO series about a New Jersey mob family will be available to pay subscribers on demand.
Premiering on the same day and time as HBO, The Sopranos airs in two parts – 12 new episodes beginning on March 12 at 9 p.m. ET, with the final eight episodes airing in early 2007. And, following The Sopranos is the new 12-episode HBO original series Big Love at 10 p.m. ET.
"We are thrilled to be able to continue to offer must-see HBO original programming exclusively on Canadian pay-TV," said Andrew Eddy, vice-president and general manager, Movie Central. "And by also offering these titles in high definition as well as on our on-demand service, we are giving our subscribers more choice than ever before."
In the new season of The Sopranos, several crises threaten Tony (James Gandolfini) and his crew. Rival boss Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) remains in prison, and the always-tense relations between the New Jersey and New York families continue to be strained through the unpredictable behaviour of Sack’s surrogates. Although Tony has moved back in with his wife (Edie Falco), recurring family problems and business-related stress continue to compel Tony to see his psychiatrist (Lorraine Bracco).
Big dreams and big problems also dominate the Henrickson family in the HBO original series Big Love. Executive produced by Tom Hanks, this series explores the evolving institution of marriage through a typical atypical family. Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) is a practicing polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. An independent businessman who runs a growing chain of hardware stores, Bill faces a myriad of challenges in meeting the emotional, romantic and financial needs of his three wives – Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) – while dealing with their kids, three adjoined houses, an ever-mounting avalanche of bills and the opening of his newest hardware store.
