Feel lucky to be part of American TV's golden era: Steven

American musician-actor Steven Van Zandt feels lucky to be a part of the golden era of the television in his country.
"I am very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. I happened to be there during the golden era of television as historians are now calling it with 'The Sopranos' (American drama series), which I think changed television completely and forever," Steven told PTI in an interview.
"It also brought in the idea of complex characters, established the idea of a cult, adult entertainment with violence and language but also with complexity... The idea that the leading man may not necessarily always be a good guy," he said.

Steven feels the success of television now lies in adult content.
"At this point we are also celebrating what has become the top of the artistic hierarchy in terms of content for adults. Most of the adult content now is being created for television. That is where the action is, that is where the success is," he says.
Steven is happy that his show "Lilyhammer", a Norwegian-American television series, is being aired in India.

"I was there when the new golden era of television went international, which is what Netflix (an international provider of on-demand internet streaming media) did in this case by making the content more international," he said.

"Lilyhammer" is a Norwegian-American TV series starring
Steven Van Zandt which will be aired in India from tonight. It revolves around Frank Tagliano, a New York-based mobster played by Steven.
"I play a New York-based mobster who is trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer in Norway as part of the Witness Protection Program after testifying against his former mafia associates," he said.
"I am always trying to do something new, if I can and learn from it. I knew that I had done my homework where the gangsters were concerned and understood the genre very well. It's a hobby of mine to read all the books about the real gangsters and of course watch all the movies," he said.

During the course of the show, Steven got a chance to learn about Norway which was a great mystery to him.
"I think no one can name a single Norwegian celebrity or a single Norwegian product, and in that sense I think it is a complete mystery. And I honestly think, the more I learnt about it, the more mysterious it got," he said.
"A nation of farmers until 1972, suddenly they discovered oil and became one of the richest countries in the world," he said.
The first season of "Lilyhammer" was premiered in 2012. Now for the first time, the show is coming to India and would be telecast from tonight on FX and FX HD channels.