'The Sopranos' will return for sixth season

NEW YORK -- Tony Soprano and his mob family on the HBO series -- some of them at least -- have a longer lease on life.

HBO and producers of the award-winning drama have announced an agreement for a sixth season. The cast is currently wrapping up production on the fifth season.

Fans of "The Sopranos" have to wait, however. The series has been off the air since December and was widely expected to return in the fall. But HBO now says the fifth season won't begin until March.

The sixth season will consist of 10 episodes, shorter than the 13-episode seasons "The Sopranos" usually offers, HBO spokeswoman Tobe Becker said Thursday.

It's widely assumed that the sixth season will be the last for "The Sopranos." Then again, it was widely assumed the fifth season would, too.

Series creator David Chase signaled the intention to keep going last week in an interview with the New York Daily News.

"I'd planned out an arc for season five that would have ended the show," he said. "But as we're getting into it, we're finding there's a lot more material. We could cram it into 13 episodes, but I don't know that it's the right thing to do."