FX, Hulu and the Estate of James Clavell are working to extend the critically acclaimed global hit drama Shōgun, moving forward to develop the saga with two additional seasons of the drama series.
The show’s key creative partners including Co-Creators, Executive Producers and Writers Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, Executive Producer Michaela Clavell, and series star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada are on board for the development. Production timing has not been locked in, but a writers’ room is being assembled and will begin this summer.
Through its first nine weeks, Shōgun has become FX’s most-watched show ever based on global hours streamed. All 10 episodes of season 1 of Shōgun, which concluded on April 23, are available to stream on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ in all other territories.
Shōgun has received tremendous critical acclaim, including:
- “the best TV show of the year” – Esquire
- “a genuine masterpiece” – TIME
- “not only one of the best shows of the year but one of the best shows ever to grace the screen” – Collider
- “easily one of the best shows of 2024” – Forbes
- “the best show of the year by some margin” – Polygon
- “the best series — with the best acting — on TV right now” – The Daily Beast
- “some of the best performances of the year so far” – Paste
- “FX’s Shōgun isn’t a remake — it’s a revelation…. a genuine masterpiece” – TIME
- “Dazzling Shōgun is the genuine TV epic you’ve been waiting for” – USA Today
- “Majestic… Thrilling and fascinating… I never wanted to leave this world” – TV Guide
Shōgun, an original adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel, is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war.
Producer Hiroyuki Sanada stars as “Lord Yoshii Toranaga” who is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him. When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, “John Blackthorne” (Cosmo Jarvis), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants.
Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, “Toda Mariko” (Anna Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.
Shōgun features an acclaimed Japanese cast, unprecedented for an American production, including Tadanobu Asano as “Kashigi Yabushige,” a notorious backstabber and close ally of Toranaga; Hiroto Kanai as “Kashigi Omi,” the young leader of the fishing village where Blackthorne’s ship was found; Takehiro Hira as “Ishido Kazunari,” a powerful bureaucrat who is Toranaga’s chief rival; Moeka Hoshi as “Usami Fuji,” a widow who must find new purpose amidst her lord’s fight; Tokuma Nishioka as “Toda Hiromatsu,” Toranaga’s trusted general and closest friend; Shinnosuke Abe as “Toda Hirokatsu” (“Buntaro”), Mariko’s jealous husband; Yuki Kura as “Yoshii Nagakado,” the brash son of Toranaga with a strong desire to prove himself; Yuka Kouri as “Kiku,” a courtesan renowned for her artistry throughout Japan; and Fumi Nikaido as “Ochiba no Kata,” the revered mother of the heir who will stop at nothing to put an end to Toranaga and his threat to her son’s power.
Shōgun is created for television by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks, with Marks serving as Showrunner and Executive Producer alongside Michaela Clavell, Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, and Kondo. The series is produced by FX Productions.
