It’s official — more “Shōgun” is happening. FX, Hulu and the James Clavell estate are working together to make more episodes of the massively successful series.
This collaboration will “likely” lead to two more seasons, according to a press release about the continuation. The story and characters will continue in this expansion of the cross-cultural saga. Series co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo as well as executive producer and star Hiroyuki Sanada have signed onto the project. Marks will serve as executive producer, writer and showrunner of the FX series, while Kondo will serve as executive producer and writer. Michaela Clavell has also signed on as an executive producer.
Timing for production has yet to be locked in, but coshowrunner Justin Marks shared in a lengthy X thread that the Season 1 writers’ room will convene in July.
Last Friday, rumors began to swirl that another season of “Shōgun” would be happening with Sanada attached. Moving forward, “Shōgun” will compete as a drama during the 2024 Emmys. This is far from the first limited series to shift to drama. HBO’s “Big Little Lies” and “The White Lotus” followed the same trajectory, as did Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers.”
Throughout its first nine weeks, “Shōgun” has become FX’s most-watched show of all time, based on global hours streamed. All 10 episodes of the historic drama are currently available to stream on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in all other territories. During its 10-week run, the series never fell out of the Top 3 spots on Samba’s TV Weekly Wrap Report — a rarity when it comes to the flash-in-the-pan popularity of shows in the streaming age. Its premiere also drew 9 million viewers across Hulu, Disney+ and Star+.
“Shōgun” tells the story of three unexpected people crossing paths and forever changing Japan. When pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) finds himself in this new country, he initially becomes hellbent on recruiting the Japanese people to help the English win their religious war against the Portuguese. But as he spends more time with Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Sanada) and his translator Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), the gruff sailor is slowly changed. What starts as a cultural fish-out-of-water story becomes a saga about the future of Japan as Lord Toranaga plots to become shōgun.
The series has been hailed as the “best TV show of the year” by Esquire and “a genuine masterpiece” by TIME. It currently has a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes out of 97 reviews.
