Last night, the FX series Shōgun won four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Best Actor for Hiroyuki Sanada, Best Actress for Anna Sawai, and Best Drama. Combined with the 14 awards it won at the Creative Arts Emmys, that brings its total haul to 18, which is officially the most Emmys ever won by any TV show for a single season.
This was only to be expected; Shōgun, based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, was a sensation when it aired on FX and Hulu earlier this year. It's a lush historical epic about a Englishman who washes ashore in feudal Japan during a period of political upheaval. The story was weighty, the sets and costumes were gorgeous, and the actors were tremendous. It wasn't a huge surprise when FX announced that the series would be returning for a second season.
Only yes it was, because the first season of Shōgun adapts the whole of Clavell's book. For a second season, showrunners Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks will have to make up more story. And according to an interview the husband-wife team gave on the red carpet at the Emmys, they're actually preparing two more seasons of the show!
Justin Marks details the progress creating the new #Shogun seasons: "We're in the writers' room...We're like 47 days in right now. We've got three outlines that we're really excited about; we're about to add the fourth. Scripts will come soon." https://t.co/OwvzFOEqA5 pic.twitter.com/zWHj0rjkVa
— Variety (@Variety) September 15, 2024
Marks says they're about 47 days into work in the writers room and have three outlines for episodes done. "Scripts will come soon," he said.
I knew FX was working on another season of Shōgun but I didn't know they were eying two. The first season took a long time to put together, and that was when they were working off excellent source material from James Clavell. I get that FX wants more of the show, but I worry it won't live up to the extremely high bar set by the first season. I'll also note that Clavell wrote several other books in his "Asian Saga." Why not adapt those?
But I'm probably just being a party pooper. Congratulations to Shōgun on all of its Emmy success, and I'll look forward to what future seasons bring. As you can tell from Marks' comments, we're probably a while off from actually seeing new episodes. I'd pin them for 2026 at the earliest.
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