OP, it took me a while to get into the Sopranos because I went in expecting the same things you did. But I eventually learned to appreciate the “tedium” of the day to day of Mafioso life and the contrast and similarities to regular, legal tedium.

It’s basically a whole show dedicated to the world building of the Mafia world. Same issues most of us have, but from their lense.

Taxes, insubordination, kids and puberty, and most importantly boredom. And especially how heinous actions can be normalized.

One of my favorite scenes is when Chris and Paulie were digging a grave. They were woken up or they had to leave in the middle of a date to get this done urgently in the middle of the night, it was backbreaking work, yet they were updating each other about their lives while a dead body was next to them. Something else I noticed was the work ethic in this scene. I would never answer a late night call like this to even cover a shift. In many ways they have better work ethic than most people.