HBO's Jon Bernthal-Led 'Sopranos' Spin-Off Is Officially a Streaming Hit

Jon Bernthal is having a career year in 2026, but he's finally slowing down after starring in some of the biggest projects of the year on the big and small screen. Between his work in The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Bernthal has added over $4 billion to his career box office total in 2026. Even if he hadn't starred in two of the biggest movies of the year, Bernthal still would have had plenty to hang his hat on this year, including appearances in TV shows like His & Hers and The Bear. Bernthal also starred in his first ever solo Punisher project on Disney Plus, The Punisher: One Last Kill, which spent over one month straight as the #1 show on streaming. His future as The Punisher in the MCU is unclear now, though.

Jon Bernthal has several roles that he'll be remembered for, but he's also starred in other movies and TV shows that have mostly been forgotten over time. It's easy to forget that Bernthal is part of The Sopranos universe, even if he never appeared in the original HBO series that was on the air in the early 2000s. A few years ago, Bernthal starred as Johnny Soprano in The Sopranos prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark. Due to it being released at one of the many spikes of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Many Saints of Newark never got off the ground at the box office — the film cost $50 million to make, and it grossed only $13 million, falling well short of its $100 million break-even point. However, the film has been a hit on VOD for months now, even though it lacks a streaming home in America.

What Is 'The Many Saints of Newark' About?

The Many Saints of Newark is set years before the events of The Sopranos, and it follows a young Tony Soprano as he's influenced by his uncle to rise up in the crime-ridden city of Newark to become a powerful mob boss. Michael Gandolfini, son of the great James Gandolfini, even plays a young Tony Soprano in the film, which was directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konnor. Michael Gandolfini is also known for his role in Daredevil: Born Again.