Written and directed by series creator David Chase, "Made in America" first aired on HBO in the United States on June 10, 2007.

The plot involves Tony Soprano attempting to end the war with rival Mafioso Phil Leotardo, and muses on its drastic consequences to those around him.

As with every episode of the season, the plot outline of "Made in America" was developed by Chase and his writing staff; for the final season, this consisted of executive producers Terence Winter and Matthew Weiner, and supervising producers and writing team Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider.

", spoken by Dwight Harris after being informed of Phil Leotardo's death, is quoted from former FBI supervisor Lindley DeVecchio.

[11][12] The final scene was filmed in March 2007 at Holsten's Brookdale Confectionery, an ice cream and candy shop located in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

[6][13] The scene where Phil Leotardo was killed was filmed at a gas station on the southwest corner of Routes 10 and 202[14] in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

In the final scene, "All That You Dream" by Little Feat plays on the restaurant's speakers as Tony enters the diner ahead of his family.

[19] Immediately following the episode, the song saw a surge in popularity, with its sales on iTunes growing by 482%;[20] its use in the series is credited with reviving mainstream attention for Journey, who reportedly suffered financial difficulties in the 2000s.

[21] The final scene of "Made in America" became the subject of intense discussion, controversy, and analysis after its original broadcast.

The final scene showing a man who glances at Tony (credited as "Man in Members Only Jacket") and who later goes to the bathroom, has been interpreted as a reference to Michael Corleone retrieving a hidden gun from a restaurant bathroom to kill his enemies in The Godfather (1972); in the episode "Johnny Cakes", it was revealed that this is Tony's favorite scene from the film.

Matt Servitto, who portrayed Dwight Harris, said the scene originally continued with the Man in Members Only Jacket emerging from the bathroom and walking towards Tony's table.

The lyrics of the closing song, seemingly telling the viewer "Don't stop believin'," are thought to support this, while the silent black screen space before the credits is meant to allow people to imagine and believe in their own continuations of Tony's story.

[34][35] In his first interview after the broadcast of the finale with The Star-Ledger, Chase stated, I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there.

Tiny, little bits of progress—that's how it works.Chase later referred to scenes from previous episodes, specifically "Stage 5" and "Soprano Home Movies",[37] appearing to hint at fan theories and critical interpretations: There are no esoteric clues.

In an April 2015 interview with DGA Quarterly,[38] Chase said viewers and critics over-analyzed the series' ending:[39]The ceiling I was going for was "don't stop believing".

So don't stop believing.In a January 2019 interview with Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz for their book The Sopranos Sessions, Chase inadvertently referred to "that death scene" when discussing the finale.

Seitz asked Chase if he was aware of his choice of words to which the latter, after a long pause, responded, "Fuck you guys."

[40] In a November 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chase made comments which were interpreted as confirmation that Tony Soprano dies.

He revealed he envisioned Tony's death occurring during a meeting, which would take place after traveling from New Jersey to New York (the reverse of the route in the opening sequence of every episode).

After driving past a small restaurant on Ocean Park Boulevard, Chase instead decided, if Tony should die, it would be "in a place like that".

"[42] In a January 2024 interview with TV Insider, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the show's premiere, Chase clarified his previous comment about Tony's fate.

According to Nielsen ratings, an average of 11.9 million viewers watched "Made in America" on its United States premiere date of Sunday, June 10, 2007.

During the weeks following the episode's original broadcast, "Made in America" and its closing scene, in particular, became the subject of much discussion and analysis.

[2][17][22][36][46] Marisa Carroll of PopMatters awarded "Made in America" a score of 8 out of 10 and particularly praised the final scene as one of the best of the series.

"[50] Kim Reed of Television Without Pity gave "Made in America" the highest score of A+ and praised it for staying true to the show.

[51] Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger called the finale "satisfying" and wrote that the episode "fit[s] perfectly with everything Chase has done on this show before.

[23] Retrospective reviews of "Made in America" have been highly positive; the episode has been included on several lists of the best series finales of all time.

Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote, in an essay analyzing the finale one year after its original broadcast, that he felt the episode was "brilliant.

"[46] In 2009, Arlo J. Wiley of Blogcritics wrote: "by focusing on that last ambiguous parting shot from creator David Chase, we run the risk of forgetting just how beautifully structured and executed an hour of television 'Made in America' is" and ranked it as the eighth-best series finale ever.

[59] In 2008, Chase was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award in the category of Drama Series (Night) but lost to fellow Sopranos director Alan Taylor, who won for directing the pilot episode of Mad Men, a series created by former Sopranos writer Matthew Weiner.