The Emmy-winning executive producers of "The Sopranos," Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green, will not be with the HBO drama as it finishes its run.

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The writer/producers were with creator David Chase when "The Sopranos" began and were still aboard when shooting began for the upcoming sixth and final season.

Insiders told Daily Variety the pair's abrupt exit came as a surprise.

"After working for five years on a very successful series, they are now collaborating on their own project for HBO," a spokesman for the cable network said.

They are reportedly concentrating on their new HBO series, "Powerball," about a family that wins a $300 million lottery jackpot.

The sixth season of "The Sopranos" is set to air in March followed by eight "bonus" episodes wrapping up the mob saga in early 2007.