Michael Imperioli is set to star in an HBO comedy based on his life as a practicing Buddhist

Variety

The Sopranos alum is teaming with Barry co-creator Alec Berg on the potential series that would mark his return to HBO. The pair will co-write the untitled project, described as a meta blend of fact and fiction loosely based on Imperioli’s experiences as a practicing Buddhist, according to Variety. Imperioli earned five Emmy nominations, winning one for best supporting actor, for The Sopranos. Last year amid the pandemic, he and Sopranos co-star Steve Schirripa launched the Talking Sopranos podcast. Imperioli's last regular TV role was as a detective on last year's short-lived NBC drama Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector. A 2020 GQ profile of Imperioli described him as "a Buddhist, a vegetarian, and a happily married father of three who loves shoegaze and the theater" who lives in Santa Barbara. GQ's Gabriella Paiella wrote that "as The Sopranos was winding down, Imperioli found himself plagued by a feeling that something was missing. He had ascended to a place that had taken him years to reach, looked around at the view, and thought: That’s it? 'I had a lot of great, positive stuff,' he says. 'I had a great family and kids and friends and great work, satisfying work—but there's a spiritual component to us as human beings and it needed addressing.” This dissatisfaction led to a period of soul-searching, including some experimentation with mysticism and the occult, that eventually led him and his wife Victoria to their first Buddhist teacher. (In classic New York fashion, his center was housed in what was formerly a 'decadent, insane' Tribeca after-hours club the pair had frequented in the ‘80s.)"