THE fans didn’t get it.

Brad Grey, executive producer of “The Sopranos,” says he’s surprised that fans of the mob opera were disappointed by the season finale.

People may have been expecting more blood and mayhem in the last show of the season – but that’s not what the show was about this year, he says.

The whole season had a single theme – parenting, says Grey. And that’s what the finale was all about.

“In my opinion, I think that it was a well thought out season that showed the evolving of our characters and growth to the extent that there was a theme that was threaded throughout, which was parenting,” Grey told The Post yesterday.

“If you take a look at the arc of the season, certainly the last episode would speak to that,” he said.

After a hugely popular season – which saw the weekly audience for “The Sopranos” grow by almost a third over last year – the backlash against the show’s highly anticipated season closer was surprising.

In the final episode, Tony Soprano’s best friend’s son, Jackie Jr., is killed; Tony discovers that his own son, A.J., is – like him – prone to panic attacks; and the gulf between him and his daughter Meadow grows even deeper.

Because there were so many subplots were left open by the finale, fans felt angry and cheated.

“To the extent some people didn’t enjoy it,” said one “Sopranos” exec who asked not to be quoted by name, “you know, we’ll be back to work.”

“We obviously try to produce the show in the best way we can, and I was happy with the show,” says Grey. “I wouldn’t do anything differently.”

“I was pleased with the season,” he says, “and I certainly hope that all the fans were as well.

“We have a lot more work to do in the next year or two in terms of more episodes,” he says. “Certainly, we hope that everyone enjoyed the season and we look forward to working hard next year.”