America’s favorite Mafia family is making fans wait once again. HBO announced last week the hit crime drama “The Sopranos” will not premiere its fifth season, currently in production, until March 2004.

“I waited 18 months between the third and fourth seasons. I think they’re known for making us wait — we’re loyal viewers willing to wait that long and keep watching,” said Dru Frykberg, library associate in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and devoted “Sopranos” fan.

Cindy Christen, assistant professor of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, said she doesn’t see the delay as a problem.

“It may prove to be a wise choice for the creators to fully think out every arc of the complex plot structure,” she said. “A rush to get new episodes produced would potentially hurt the show.”

HBO and producers of the award-winning drama have also announced a green light for a sixth season. These episodes are expected to premiere in late 2005.

“What makes the show so interesting is the characters and the writing,” Frykberg said. “It’s a modern-day Mafia that gives the outside world a feeling for that whole sub-culture. The show also has this great underlying sense of dark humor.”

“The Sopranos” has become the single most successful program in the network’s history, creating a massive explosion of popular culture.

Several books, including “A Sitdown with the Sopranos: Watching Italian American Culture on TV’s Most Talked-About Series” by Regina Barreca and “The Sopranos Family Cookbook” by Allen Rucker and Michele Scicolone, have been evidence of the obsession with the series.

“The phenomenon of this show stems from Tony’s character. Many people relate to him. He’s a man who acts on impulse and does the things we wish to do — he embodies the dark American fantasy,” Christen said. “Although he leads a very ugly life, he’s often portrayed in a glamorous eye.”

“I think HBO is wonderful,” Frykberg said in reference to the freedom a show like “The Sopranos” is given on a channel as inhibitionless and boundless as HBO.

“Each episode is a piece of uninterrupted drama. The violence, nudity and language feed into the realism and grittiness the show portrays. The show would be completely different on another channel.”