Fourth Season of ‘Sopranos’ Pushed Back to June 2002

Fans of Home Box Office’s “The Sopranos” will have to wait at least until June for the program’s fourth season--a delay that will eliminate the overall leader in this year’s Emmy Award nominations from contention in the 2002 Emmy race.

HBO executives, meeting with reporters and TV critics in Pasadena on Friday, said the next flight of episodes would not be available before June and might be held until September. That will block “Sopranos” from Emmy consideration for next year, since the eligibility period is June 2001 through May 2002.

“Sopranos” is the first cable program ever nominated as best dramatic series, recently claiming its third consecutive Emmy bid in that category and 22 nominations in all. The next batch of original episodes would be eligible for the 2003 awards.

In terms of scheduling, HBO will fill the void with “Six Feet Under,” the new program about a family of undertakers, which will open its second season in March, the same time the Mafia drama started this year.

Discussions continue, meanwhile, with “Sopranos” creator David Chase, who has been offered a lucrative package to extend the show beyond a fourth year. Chase had been quoted as saying he felt the series should end after next year but he later softened that stance, and given the value of the franchise to the pay channel, it’s anticipated a deal will be reached.

One reason “The Sopranos” takes so long to produce is that Chase essentially has the latitude to handcraft every episode. “David supervises all the editing, and it just takes time,” said manager-producer Brad Grey, whose company, Brad Grey Television, produces the series.

The next season begins production in October. Hoping to keep fans tuning in--as well as help bolster its other original series--HBO said it will rerun the first three seasons of “The Sopranos” on Sundays at 8 p.m. beginning Aug. 12.

Though cable networks have traditionally introduced programs during summer to capitalize on network reruns, HBO has gradually become more aggressive in challenging broadcasters’ original fare--including plans to premiere its 10-hour, $120-million World War II epic from producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, “Band of Brothers,” in September as the broadcast networks launch their new lineups. In addition, six new episodes of “Sex and the City” will be held back until January.

Meanwhile, executives at another AOL Time Warner property, the WB network, met with reporters on Sunday, though its Emmy-nomination problem hinges on the fact that the network didn’t receive any. The shutout for WB’s younger-skewing programs, such as the critically lauded “Gilmore Girls,” prompted allegations of reverse ageism from some producers because members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which presents the Emmys, tend to be older.

“It’s disappointing for our creative talent . . . who want to get recognized by their peers,” said WB Entertainment President Jordan Levin.

WB Chairman Jamie Kellner also predicted that the decline in advertiser spending on the networks will take a toll on programming, inspiring networks to spend less on series development and in ordering backup shows. He also defended the WB’s commitment to ethnic diversity, saying it was “not abandoning anything” despite a reduction in the number of comedies on its schedule featuring African American leads. (The WB is part-owned by Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times.)