Daredevil: Born Again Season 2's Sopranos References Go Deeper Than You Think [Exclusive]

This article contains major spoilers for the Season 2 finale of "Daredevil: Born Again," "The Southern Cross."

If you watched both seasons of "Daredevil: Born Again" (much of which was set in classic crime drama locales like docks and warehouses and crime-riddled alleyways) and noticed some strong parallels with certain other shows of yore, you weren't alone. In fact, that was very much by design. For a show like "Daredevil," there's simply no hiding the thematic and visual connections to others that have also been shot on-location in New York City, New Jersey, and the surrounding area. "The Wire" clearly helped pave the way for this latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but so did "The Sopranos."

Let's just say those vibes extend far beyond the inspired casting of Michael Gandolfini as the late Daniel Blake, which obviously adds to the atmosphere, considering the actor's famous father, James Gandolfini. In an exclusive interview, /Film spoke with director of photography Hillary Fyfe Spera, an integral member of the creative talent behind the camera extending back to Season 1 — even before the creative overhaul partway through production that brought in new showrunner Dario Scardapane — and Spera shed some light on how those influences trickled into the story of Season 2:

"'The Sopranos,' absolutely. 'The Wire,' as well, actually. We shot down in Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is such another iconic location, which a lot of 'Sopranos' shot down there and stuff like that. I mean, you can't ignore the fact that we had Michael Gandolfini, who is just an incredible person, incredible actor, and such a fun collaborator. I mean, truly just a joy."

But that, as you might expect, is only scratching the surface.

Some influences are just baked right into the fabric of a certain movie or show, and that happened to be the case with "Daredevil: Born Again." Call it a quirk of timing or kismet or divine intervention by the TV and film gods themselves (or, most likely, showrunner Dario Scardapane and his creative team showcasing next-level attention to detail), but everything seemed to align perfectly for what Season 2 ultimately turned out to be. That rings particularly true in light of one key sequence involving Michael Gandolfini's Daniel Blake and Arty Froushan's Buck Cashman back in Episode 5.

As Hillary Fyfe Spera tells it:

"The scene with [Michael Gandolfini] and Buck in the car, that was so 'Sopranos' — just inherently, but also it was definitely a reference." I think that episode, ['Long Term Parking'], it's a classic, and it was certainly a reference. So just being able to pull from all this stuff that we've all seen and we all love, but is so iconic to the city was something really fun to do."

As obvious as these "The Sopranos" references may have been to fans in the know, they take on much deeper layers than you might have thought. And apparently, this extended far beyond the writing on the page and involved the actual crew members themselves. According to Spera, the crossover between the production team of "Born Again" and that of "The Sopranos" played a key role, as well. "I should say, too, there's members of our crew that worked on 'The Sopranos,' and so it was definitely in the DNA [of 'Daredevil: Born Again']."

Look, you simply can't create a crime drama series like "Daredevil: Born Again," set it in New York City, and hype up the "grounded," "street-level" feel of it without evoking some other very obvious and unmistakable touchstones. Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese helped define this very subgenre back in the day, as did others like William Friedkin, Alan Pakula, Sidney Lumet, and many more. For those who know their New York cinema inside and out, both seasons of "Born Again" (along with the upcoming third) might as well be catnip for viewers of a certain sensibility.

As someone who's called New York City home for 20 years, Hillary Fyfe Spera knew exactly what homages to include and how to best integrate them into the visual dynamic of the series. When asked about the initial conversations she had about how this revival show should look and feel, Spera revealed:

"We just always discussed having a show that was very evocative of '70s New York, your classic — when you think of a very gritty, textured New York City that is iconic, but also very street-level, very grounded. For me, that was definitely films of the '70s in New York. Our biggest one for Season 1 was 'French Connection.' There's a lot of Friedkin in the first season. Then I think in Season 2, I did speak to Dario a lot about moving it more towards 'Thief,' which is a Michael Mann film of the '80s [set in] Chicago, but it definitely still has a very New York, sort of iconic — from a visual standpoint — vibe. There's 'Taxi Driver,' 'Mean Streets,' all of that was very touchstone-related for me."

"Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2 is streaming on Disney+. You can hear my full conversation with Spera on the May 6, 2026 episode of the /Film Weekly podcast.