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 uses a mostly Japanese cast and the majority of the dialogue is in the Japanese language.

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 praise from critics, 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 are in early development.

In 2024 it became the first Japanese-language series to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and has earned 25 Emmy nominations. It was also the second non-English-language series to be nominated as such, with the Korean-language Squid Game being first.

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; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous political rivals; and 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 in Japan rose to become a samurai under Tokugawa Ieyasu, a powerful daimyō who later became the founder and first shōgun 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 in which the character is based.

Main

 * Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1543–1616): A powerful 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" (William Adams, 1564–1620): 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 (Hosokawa Gracia, 1563–1600): 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 (Honda Masanobu, 1538–1616): The scheming lord of Izu who serves Toranaga.
 * Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari (Ishida Mitsunari, 1559–1600): 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" (João Rodrigues Tçuzu, 1561–1634): An empathetic Portuguese priest and reliable translator.
 * Fumi Nikaido as Ochiba no Kata / Ruri (Yodo-dono, 1569–1615): 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 (Hosokawa Fujitaka, 1534–1610): Toranaga's most trusted general and close confidant
 * Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi (Honda Masazumi, 1566–1637): 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 (Matsudaira Tadayoshi, 1580–1607): Toranaga's impulsive yet adoring son
 * Ako as Daiyoin / Lady Iyo (Kōdai-in, 1549–1624): The wife of the late Taikō, who later became a Buddhist nun upon his death
 * Hiromoto Ida as Kiyama ukon Sadanaga (Konishi Yukinaga, 1555–1600): One of the five Regents, who converted to Catholicism, due to the wealth the Portuguese acquired for him
 * Toshi Toda as Sugiyama Josui (Maeda Toshiie, 1539–1599): One of the five Regents, who is descended from a rich clan
 * Takeshi Kurokawa as Ohno Harunobu (Otani Yoshitsugu, 1558–1600): 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, eye-patch-wearing samurai serving Yabushige
 * Sen Mars as Nakamura Yaechiyo (Toyotomi Hideyori, 1593–1615): 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 (Akechi Mitsuhide, 1528–1582): 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 (Hosokawa Tadaoki, 1563–1646): Hiromatsu's son, Mariko's 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 (Alessandro Valignano, 1539–1606): A senior Italian priest and the highest-ranking representative of the Catholic Church in Japan
 * Yoriko Dōguchi as Kiri no Kata (Lady Acha, 1555–1637): 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 (Matsudaira Iemoto, 1548–1603): 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 (Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1537–1598): 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 (Oda Nobunaga, 1534–1582): 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 (Lady Gō, 1573–1626): Toranaga's daughter-in-law and Ochiba's younger sister who lives in Edo

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. Patten also directed the series and Bennett also wrote. FX Productions is slated to serve 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."

The majority of the show's principal cast were drawn from the Japanese film industry.

In May 2024, 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.

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.

Visual effects
Certain post-production visual effects were produced in Ireland.

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.

Audience viewership
According to viewer tracking application Samba TV, Shōgun was the most streamed program across all platforms between February 26 and March 3, 2024. 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. On March 6, 2024, it was revealed the show drew 9 million views across Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ in its first six days of release. The streaming aggregator Reelgood reported the miniseries was the most streamed program in the United States through March 6, 2024. From March 4 to 10, 2024, Shōgun was the most streamed television series in Canada, and in the United States, according to the streaming aggregator JustWatch.

Critical response
Shōgun received critical acclaim worldwide. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 127 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 39 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 neutered 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 [who] ripples 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" whilst 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 [having] tapped into the true secret sauce of epic television: a balance between sweeping grandeur and intimate psychology."

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.