Shōgun showrunner explains how they decided to continue the show for seasons 2 and 3

A few weeks ago, it was announced that FX was moving ahead with more seasons of Shōgun, its feudal Japanese period drama based on the acclaimed 1975 novel by James Clavell. This came as a bit of a shock to many fans, since Shōgun was billed as a limited series; the first season adapted the entirety of Clavell's book.

But Shōgun was an absolutely massive hit for FX; it's currently generating lots of Emmy buzz, and as of this writing it's the network's most-watched original show ever on streaming platforms, where it is available on both Hulu and Disney+. Even if the show finished telling the story as set out in Clavell's book, perhaps it was inevitable that the studio would call for more.

Last week, co-showrunner Justin Marks took to Twitter/X to shed some light on how the idea for continuing Shōgun came about. Marks recalled how he and his showrunning partner/wife Rachel Kondo went to dinner with Shōgun executive producers Gina Balian and Michaela Clavell, the daughter of author James Clavell. That dinner turned into an informal pitch session for a continuation.

"We had been joking about a scene. A single scene that set an idea we couldn't get out of our heads," Marks explained. "And after the second glass of wine, we decided to jokingly pitch it. And Gina and Michaela started doing that 'lean forward'... a look that any writer knows and loves...a look that says, 'So THEN what happens?' And we were a little startled, because it suddenly hit us: could this story keep going? So we kept going. When production wrapped, we sat on our porch on Maui, teasing out this idea as it grew larger and larger... richer with real history... this essential thematic QUESTION that felt, frankly, unfinished until we could reach the end. By December we had an outline... And to be honest, we never thought it would become real. This show was hard, and big, and took a lot of work to get where we are. And the book was done. But to be even more honest, we never dreamed S1 would come together like it did either, so here we are."

Marks added that, "Rachel and I get on a plane for Japan tomorrow to begin the journey. We want to see if THIS really is what we think it is. We reunite with the amazing writers of S1 in July. As someone once said, tomorrow is tomorrow... but today we'll learn how to swim."

Since this thread went up on Twitter a few days ago, that means that, as of this writing, Marks and Kondo are already in Japan. And lo! We have photographic proof, with this picture of the two of them at the launch event for actor and artist Tadanobu Asano's (Yabushige) new art book, Gaps in the Film:

It looks like a good time is being had! Here's hoping discussions about the future of Shōgun go well, and Marks, Kondo, and the rest of the team behind the series find a way to continue with as much care as they showed the source material in the first season.

All 10 episodes of Shōgun's first season are streaming now on Hulu and Disney+.

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