The television industry is a hits-driven business, which is why FX is taking big swings on “Fargo” creator Noah Hawley’s TV series set in the universe of the “Alien” franchise, as well Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo’s prodigious reboot of the famed 1980 miniseries “Shogun.”
During the Television Critics Association summer press tour, FX Networks chief John Landgraf offered an update on both ambitious projects.
“We wrapped physical production on limited series ‘Showgun’ in June, which was by far our biggest and most ambitious production,” Landgraf revealed. “However, we still have a long period of post-production ahead of us, but the show looks fantastic and will debut later next year.”
“Shogun,” which originally ran on NBC and is partly credited with boosting the popularity of the miniseries format, will be a 10-episode season based on James Clavell’s novel of the same name. The series is set in feudal Japan and charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a shrewd, powerful daimyo at odds with his own political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance.
As for Hawley, Landgraf said the “Fargo” and “Legion” creator has “delivered all the scripts for the first season of his drama series based on ‘Alien.’” Franchise architect Ridley Scott is producing the series, which will begin shooting next year.
The series will be the first “Alien” property to be set on Earth and is being billed as a blend of elements from Scott’s original 1979 film and James Cameron’s more action-heavy follow-up, 1986’s “Aliens.” Specific plot details remain unknown, though Sigourney Weaver is not expected to return to the franchise.
