Speaking to reporters at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, The Sopranos creator David Chase discussed both his celebrated past work and his forthcoming HBO project. He confirmed he is in the early "story stage" of Project: MKUltra, a limited series adapting John Lisle's nonfiction book about the CIA's Cold War-era programme that tested LSD on willing and unwilling subjects. Should it proceed to series, it would mark Chase's first HBO effort since his Sopranos prequel film.

The drama centres on chemist and spymaster Sidney Gottlieb, nicknamed "The Black Sorcerer", who oversaw the mind-control experiments; Chase noted the CIA spent millions weaponising LSD and that some believe Charles Manson may have been given the drug. On The Sopranos, which premiered in 1999, Chase said global affection for the show is "the high point of my creative life" but voiced doubts it would remain popular forever, worrying its comedic and topical references would fade. He also named one regret — an Italy-set storyline where a female character was made "too sexy" to seem real — and suggested that streaming-era caution has made HBO feel "more like network television again", with growing creative restrictions.