FX
‘Shogun’ confirms a second and third season are on their way
The absolute success of ‘Shogun’ has led to the creators venturing beyond the original novel, with two extra seasons already confirmed for the future.
The first season of ‘Shogun’ has been such a success that its showrunners are already working on two more seasons, so this television series will have, at a minimum, three seasons. This ten-episode series from FX and Hulu has been the networks’ most-watched original show of all its history. With the news of the renewal, we will continue to have stories of political intrigues in feudal Japan for a while.
Confirmed: ‘Shogun’ renewed for at least two more seasons
Although its own creators have admitted to having doubts on whether there would be more seasons of ‘Shogun’ given that the first one adapts from beginning to end the novel on which it is based, the success of the series has led those responsible to come up with a second and third season, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
On May 16 it was announced that Hulu and FX are going to work directly with the heirs of James Clavell, author of the 1975 novel ‘Shogun’, to develop two new seasons. In other words: since the first season of the series has already narrated the plot of the book, the content of these two new seasons will be totally original, and its creators are exploring new possibilities.
The two new seasons are, for now, in the pre-production phase, and as such there is still no confirmed release date, and no further details of the plot are known beyond the obvious: the story will continue after the end of the first season. It’s known that Hiroyuki Sanada (Lord Toranaga) signed a contract for one season with the possibility of returning if the series was successful, so his return is almost all but confirmed. It is expected that Cosmo Jarvis (John Blackthorne) will also return for the new episodes.
What is ‘Shogun’ about? Is it a good series?
‘Shogun’ is a historical fiction series based on the novel of the same name by James Clavell published in 1975., which was previously adapted into a miniseries in 1980. The episodes of the 2024 series were released between February and April of 2024.
The series tells us the story of John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English sailor who is shipwrecked on the coast of Japan and will become a key player in the political intrigues of the Japanese archipelago. He meets figures like Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a feudal lord engaged in a dangerous power game with his fellow men, who want to put an end to him. Blackthorne’s cultural clash with the Japanese world will radically change his scale of values and his vision of the world.
‘Shogun’ has been FX’s biggest hit to date, amassing nine million viewers across FX+, Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ platforms during its first six days. It is also an absolute critical success; on Rotten Tomatoes it has 99% from critics and 90% from audiences, and on Metacritic It has scores of 85/100 from critics and 8.5/10 from the public.