The Sopranos: The Final 9 Episodes Trailer

Source: E! Online

The Sopranos Goes Long

The Sopranos won't be sleeping with the fishes as soon as we thought.

HBO will air an extra episode of the series after creator David Chase and his fellow producers decided that eight wasn't enough to tie up all the loose ends of the seminal mobster drama before it goes to the great Bada Bing in the sky, a network rep confirmed.

"They going to give it a bonus episode, so fans are getting a bit of a holiday gift," HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer tells E! Online. "They were originally going to do eight, but David Chase wanted the added episode to tell the story, and we obviously said, 'sure.' "

The extra episode was green-lighted "several weeks ago," Schaffer says, adding that shooting is complete on the first six episodes.

Cast member Steve Schirrippa, who plays Bobby "Bacala" Baccalleri, the husband of Tony's sister Janice, first broke the news about the surprise ninth episode to Celebrity Week at last weekend's Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. The actor, a Las Vegas native, also revealed that his character has so far avoided getting whacked."

Episodes and when they will be broadcast on HBO:

Episode # 01 / 613 / 78 - 04/08/2007
Episode # 02 / 614 / 79 - 04/15/2007
Episode # 03 / 615 / 80 - 04/22/2007
Episode # 04 / 616 / 81 - 04/29/2007
Episode # 05 / 617 / 82 - 05/06/2007
Episode # 06 / 618 / 83 - 05/13/2007
Episode # 07 / 619 / 84 - 05/20/2007
Episode # 08 / 620 / 85 - 05/27/2007
Episode # 09 / 621 / 86 - 06/04/2007