Shōgun (2024 TV Series)

''Shōgun'' is an American historical drama television series created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks. It is based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, which was previously adapted into a 1980 miniseries. Its ensemble cast includes Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano, Takehiro Hira, Tommy Bastow, and Fumi Nikaido. The production features a mostly Japanese cast and the majority of the dialogue is in the Japanese language.

Initially conceived as a miniseries, the first season premiered its first two episodes on February 27, 2024, on FX on Hulu and FX, with the rest being released weekly until April 23, 2024. It received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for the directing, writing, visuals, production values, performances of its cast, and faithfulness to the source material. Following its success, a second and third season began early development.

In 2024, ''Shōgun'' became the first Japanese-language series to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, with its first season winning 18 categories at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards and 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, setting a new record as the most awarded single season of television in Emmy history. It additionally received four Golden Globe Awards, including Best Television Series – Drama and acting wins for Sanada, Sawai, and Asano. The series also won a Peabody Award at the 85th Annual Ceremony.

Premise

''Shōgun'' follows "the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds, John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him, and Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous political rivals. Then there's Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance."

Clavell's ''Shōgun'' is historical fiction. The character of Blackthorne is loosely based on the historical English navigator William Adams, who rose to become a samurai under Tokugawa Ieyasu, a powerful feudal lord (''daimyō'') who later became the military ruler of Japan (''shōgun'') and the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Ieyasu is the basis for the character of Yoshii Toranaga.

Cast and characters

In the following lists, the names in parentheses represent the historical figure on which the character is based. Japanese names are written family name first, then given name.

Main

* Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga : A powerful warlord (''bushō'') and lord of Kantō. One of the five Regents ruling Japan on behalf of the late '' Taikō''s young heir. He is a descendant of the Minowara clan (Minamoto clan) which once ruled over Japan as ''shōguns''. He possesses a brilliant mind for military and political strategy.
* Cosmo Jarvis as Pilot Major John Blackthorne, known to the Japanese as the "''Anjin''" : A Protestant English maritime pilot who served on a Dutch fleet seeking to establish trade with Japan. He finds himself and his crew captive to the powerful Lord Toranaga.
* Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko : An intelligent highborn woman with strong loyalty to Toranaga. She is a Catholic convert who serves as a translator between Toranaga and Blackthorne.
* Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige : The scheming lord of Izu who serves Toranaga.
* Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari : A former peasant turned powerful ''bushō'', one of the five Regents, Toranaga's chief rival, and ruler of Osaka Castle.
* Tommy Bastow as Father Martin Alvito, SJ / "''Tsuji''" : An empathetic Portuguese priest and reliable translator.
* Fumi Nikaido as Ochiba no Kata / Ruri : The daughter of the late Lord Kuroda Nobuhisa and only consort of the late ''Taikō'' who bore an heir, her son Yaechiyo.

Recurring

* Néstor Carbonell as Vasco Rodrigues: A Spanish sailor in league with the Portuguese who befriends Blackthorne
* Tokuma Nishioka as Toda "Iron Fist" Hiromatsu : Toranaga's most trusted general and close confidant
* Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi : Yabushige's bright nephew and the lord of Ajiro
* Yasunari Takeshima as Tonomoto Akinao / Muraji: A Christian fisherman in Ajiro, who can translate for Blackthorne and is secretly a loyal samurai serving Toranaga
* Moeka Hoshi as Usami Fuji: Hiromatsu's granddaughter and later Blackthorne's consort
* Yuki Kura as Yoshii Nagakado : Toranaga's impulsive yet adoring son
* Ako as Daiyoin / Lady Iyo : The wife of the late ''Taikō'', who later became a Buddhist nun upon his death
* Hiromoto Ida as Kiyama ukon Sadanaga : One of the five Regents, who converted to Catholicism due to the wealth the Portuguese acquired for him
* Toshi Toda as Sugiyama Josui : One of the five Regents, who is descended from a rich clan
* Takeshi Kurokawa as Ohno Harunobu : One of the five Regents, a once great warrior afflicted with leprosy, which drove him to become a devout Catholic
* Yuka Kouri as Kiku: A crafty and beguiling courtesan from Izu and Omi's concubine
* Hiro Kanagawa as Igarashi Yoshimito: An older samurai wearing an eyepatch who serves as Yabushige's general.
* Sen Mars as Nakamura Yaechiyo : The only son and heir of the ''Taikō''
* Yuki Kedoin as Takemaru: A young samurai serving Yabushige
* Nobuya Shimamoto as Nebara Jozen: Ishido's loyal retainer and an old friend of Yabushige
* Yutaka Takeuchi as Akechi Jinsai : Mariko's late father and a powerful warlord who betrayed and killed Lord Kuroda Nobuhisa, tarnishing his family's legacy
* Shinnosuke Abe as Toda "Buntaro" Hirokatsu : Hiromatsu's son, Mariko's abusive husband, and a talented samurai serving Toranaga
* Louis Ferreira as Ferreira: The Portuguese captain-general of the Black Ship, the largest trade ship that handles commerce between the Portuguese Empire and Japan
* Paulino Nunes as Father Visitor Carlo Dell'Acqua, SJ : A senior Italian priest and the highest-ranking representative of the Catholic Church in Japan
* Yoriko Dōguchi as Kiri no Kata : Toranaga's wife
* Mako Fujimoto as Shizu no Kata: Toranaga's younger, pregnant consort
* Yuua Yamanaka as Toda Ryûji : Mariko and Buntaro's son
* Eisuke Sasai as Lord Ito: An influential warlord and Noh performer who is invited to join the council of five Regents
* Yuko Miyamoto as Gin: The madam of the Ajiro teahouse
* Eita Okuno as Saeki Nobutatsu : Toranaga's half-brother and a powerful warlord

Guest

* Ned Dennehy as the Captain-General: The Dutch captain of the ''Erasmus'', who committed suicide at sea
* Yuki Takao as Usami Tadayoshi: Fuji's impulsive husband and a samurai serving Toranaga
* Dakota Daulby as Salamon: A surviving crew member of the ''Erasmus'' who Blackthorne later encounters living in the slums of Edo. Unlike the novel where he is depicted as mute, he speaks to Blackthorne and directly confronts him.
* Joaquim de Almeida as Father Domingo: A Franciscan friar who befriended and lectured Blackthorne about Japanese politics
* Yukijiro Hotaru as Nakamura Hidetoshi, later the '' Taikō'' : The retired '' Kampaku'' who appointed a council of five regents to succeed him until his heir comes of age
* Junichi Tajiri as Uejiro: An elderly gardener at Blackthorne's estate in Ajiro
* Eijiro Ozaki as Lord Kuroda Nobuhisa : The former ''daimyo'' and Ochiba's father, who was killed by Akechi Jinsai, Mariko's father, in 1578
* Takaaki Hirakawa as Mizoguchi: A warlord who was defeated during Toranaga's first battle in 1554
* Yoshi Amao as Sera: A samurai general based in Edo and one of Toranaga's vassals, who refuses to submit to the Regents
* Hitoshi Masaki as Tomono: A samurai general based in Edo and one of Toranaga's vassals, who refuses to submit to the Regents
* Haruka Igarashi as Rin : Toranaga's daughter-in-law and Ochiba's younger sister who lives in Edo

Episodes

Season 1 (2024)

Production

Development

During the Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour in August 2018, FX announced it would make a new adaptation of the 1975 novel ''Shōgun'' by James Clavell and had given the production a straight-to-series order. Executive producers were expected to include Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell, Tim Van Patten, Eugene Kelly, and Ronan Bennett. Rachel Bennette is set as a supervising producer, Tom Winchester as a producer, Georgina Pope as a co-producer, and Eriko Miyagawa as an associate producer. Van Patten also directed the series and Bennett also wrote. FX Productions serves as the production company for the series. Hiroyuki Sanada serves as a producer and lead actor.

In an interview with ''USA Today'', Sanada described his role as a producer, saying "After twenty years in Hollywood, I'm a producer. It means I can say anything, anytime. ..I had a team for the first time, ever. I carried the pressure of being a producer on my shoulder. But more than that, I had happiness." He also stressed keeping the show authentic to Japanese history. "If something is incorrect, people cannot focus on the drama. They don't want to see that kind of show. We needed to be authentic." Sanada had questioned the viability of a primarily Japanese-language series, feeling it was a "gamble". Marks joked that he did not understand why the network had greenlit "a very expensive sub-titled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition."

Initially conceived as a miniseries, its success led FX to announce in May 2024 that a second and third season were officially announced to be in development, with the writer's room assembling in mid-2024.

Filming

Principal photography for the series was scheduled to commence in March 2019 in Japan and the United Kingdom but was delayed because the network felt that the production was not "in good enough shape". Sanada did a single day of filming in 2019 in order for FX to retain the rights to the property as the series was being retooled.

In January 2020, it was revealed that after original writer Ronan Bennett became unavailable they started over with new writer and executive producer Justin Marks and supervising producer Rachel Kondo. The writing team included co-executive producer Shannon Goss, consulting producer Matt Lambert, script editor Maegan Houang, and staff writer Emily Yoshida.

Principal photography for the first season began in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 22, 2021, and lasted until June 30, 2022, taking two months longer than expected. Filming took place in locations around southern British Columbia, including the cities of Vancouver, Port Moody, and Coquitlam, and Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. Speaking to ''Yahoo Canada'', Sanada praised Canada, "especially Vancouver," for being "a perfect place to make a samurai drama because they had a big, great, beautiful studio, and then 30 minutes drive from the studio they have everything, forest, river, beach, parks, mountains." Jarvis added, "our Canadian crew exhibited a technical proficiency that I've never witnessed in my life." Altogether, around 340 crew worked on the show.

'' Nikkan Gendai'' reported that Japanese extras were paid 50,000 yen per day, which is much higher than a Japanese production where they are paid between zero yen to 5,000 yen a day. A Japanese white pine tree used on set was donated and planted after filming to the City Hall of Port Moody.

Principal photography for the second season is set to begin in January 2026.

Visual effects

Certain post-production visual effects were produced in Ireland.

Music

The score was composed by Academy Award winner Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, and Nick Chuba. Taro Ishida contributed by arranging and recording traditional Japanese music, including Gagaku, to integrate these authentic elements into the soundtrack. The team aimed to create a unique soundscape that blends ancient and modern elements, using advanced sonic manipulation to enhance the psychological depth of the story.

Marketing

To promote the series, an immersive exhibition of the series occurred at FX Lawn during San Diego Comic Con in July 2023. These included samurai performances and a virtual koi pond. On September 5, 2023, the series was teased in a showcase of upcoming FX television shows. On November 2, 2023, the show's first trailer debuted on YouTube, which revealed that the series would be released in February 2024 on FX on Hulu. A 30-second trailer for the series aired during the second-quarter of Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024. Bill Bradley of '' Adweek'' wrote "The series has been in the works for years and is already the most expensive in FX history, so what's another $7 million-ish for an ad?"

Release

''Shōgun'' premiered with its first two episodes on February 27, 2024, on FX on Hulu and FX. The remainder of the 10-episode series was released weekly. Internationally, the series was available on Disney+ and Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in other territories. An English dub of the series was available on Hulu. A companion podcast hosted by ''Shōgun'' staff writer Emily Yoshida was also released for each episode.

Reception

Critical response

''Shōgun'' received critical acclaim in the United States and Japan. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 137 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Visually sumptuous and enriched with cultural verisimilitude, ''Shōgun'' is an epic adaptation that outdoes the original." On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Rebecca Nicholson of ''The Guardian'' praised the show, calling it "mesmerising" and especially praised the battle sequences and its respect for the source material. Writing for ''The New York Times'', Mike Hale compared the show to the 1980 adaptation, writing "You can correct for wooden acting, dated production values and Eurocentrism, but you can't really correct for the basic nature of the material." He especially praised the show for highlighting more of the Japanese characters than in the 1980 adaptation, which focused more on Blackthorne. His only complaints were Cosmo Jarvis's more neutral portrayal of Blackthorne and the Western-written source material. ''Forbes'' described the show as an "instant hit" and praised Jarvis' portrayal of Blackthorne, stating "I'm immediately drawn to his character because he's not just some good guy, some white savior or what have you. He's smart but he's also calculating and ruthless."

''Empire'' headlined their review by Jake Cunningham with "''Shōgun'' makes for gripping television. Look past the knotty bureaucracy and you'll find striking performances and stunning visuals", highlighting the intricate performances of its lead trio. He describes Jarvis as "compelling" and "magnetic", Hiroyuki Sanada as a "subdued lord horipples with menace, micro-expressions of warfaring arithmetic revealing his tactical mind" and Anna Sawai as "a character torn in duty and spirituality, cloaked in a performance of stoicism." ''The Hollywood Reporter'' also praised the supporting cast, notably Moeka Hoshi, Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaido, Shinnosuke Abe and Tokuma Nishioka for their strong character work. ''IGN'' described some of the supporting cast as "stand-out", praising Néstor Carbonell as Rodrigues and Tadanobu Asano as Yabushige next to Jarvis' Blackthorne, "a force to be reckoned with." Emmanuel Ronquillo of ''Collider'' also highlighted the "understated but expressive performance" of Moeka Hoshi in the show.

Series creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks's adaptation of the novel also received positive responses, with Daniel Fienberg from ''The Hollywood Reporter'' stating that "this ''Shōgun'' finds much more traction as an ambitious game of political chess." ''IGN'' writes "Creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo have crafted a version of feudal Japan filled with visual splendor, brutality, and intrigue" while remaining "highly faithful to James Clavell's bestselling novel". For ''Variety'', Alison Herman attributes the show's success to "creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo avingtapped into the true secret sauce of epic television: a balance between sweeping grandeur and intimate psychology."

Streaming viewership

''Shōgun'' drew 9 million views across Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ in its first six days of release. Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, estimated that it was viewed for 422 million minutes during the week of March 25–31. Viewership increased to 434 million minutes for the week of April 1–7. It further rose to 608 million minutes for the week of April 22–28. According to market research company Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, ''Shōgun'' saw impressive demand in its second week, peaking at 48 times the average series. Luminate, which gathers viewership data from smart TVs in the U.S., reported that ''Shōgun'' experienced a 111% increase in streaming minutes in the week following the 2024 Emmy nominations, making it the second-highest growth among all Outstanding Drama Series nominees.

Analytics company Samba TV, which gathers viewership data from certain smart TVs and content providers, announced that ''Shōgun'' was the most-streamed program across all platforms between February 26 and March 3. It was also the most-streamed program across all platforms during its second week. ''TheWrap'' noted that ''Shōgun'' was one of the few non-Netflix series to have a back-to-back number one ranking. The streaming aggregator Reelgood, which tracks 20 million monthly viewing decisions across all U.S. streaming platforms for original and acquired content on SVOD and AVOD services, reported ''Shōgun'' was the most-streamed program through March 6. JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 20 million users around the world, estimated that ''Shōgun'' was the most-streamed series in Canada and in the United States from March 4–10. JustWatch later revealed that ''Shōgun'' was the top-streamed show in Canada and in the United States during 2024. According to the file-sharing news website ''TorrentFreak'', ''Shōgun'' was the third most-watched pirated television series of 2024.

Reception in Japan

''Shogun'' was received with acclaim by Japanese audiences on Eiga.com. Japanese comedian and history buff Kunihiro Matsumura also praised the series for its authenticity. Ken Matsudaira, who played Tokugawa Yoshimune in ''The Unfettered Shogun'' and played Tokugawa Ieyasu (the real-life model for Yoshii Toranaga) three times in his acting career, praised Sanada's skilled acting and his effort to bring more historical authenticity to the series as a producer. In an interview with ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Sanada expressed his thoughts on the show's Japanese reception: "I was a little worried about the Japanese reaction because they know what is authentic, and what is not. But surprisingly, all the reviews and the reactions from the audience were great. That was exactly what we wanted."

Video game designer Hideo Kojima, known for founding Kojima Productions, likened the series to "a ''Game of Thrones'' set in 17th-century Japan", and praised its scale, details, cast, costumes, sets, props, and VFX, as well as citing star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada's presence in the series.

Legacy

The first season of the show was a major influence on Japanese artist Takashi Murakami for his 2024 Gagosian show ''Japanese Art History à la Takashi Murakami''. ''IGN'' named the series the best TV show of 2024. Sawai's performance was additionally included in ''Variety'''s "100 Greatest TV Performances of the 21st Century", writing that "there were scenes in which Sawai communicated a chasm of yearning, rancor and guilt through a flicker in her eyes. So when her facade finally did crack wide open, we felt every bit of the emotion that was unleashed."

Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada's performances won them Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, respectively. With their wins, both became the first Japanese performers to win said categories. Additionally, Sawai also became the first Asian to win her category, while Sanada became the second Asian to do so in his category after Lee Jung-jae for his role in ''Squid Game'' in 2022.

Accolades

References

External links

''Shōgun''
at FX
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{{Hulu

2020s American drama television series
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