Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, ‘Shogun’ co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo indicated that a second season may not be on the horizon.
Despite universal acclaim and comparisons to other high-caliber series, Marks and Kondo expressed their satisfaction with ‘Shogun’s ten-episode run, which faithfully adapts Clavell’s novel to its full extent:
“We took the story to the end of the book and put a period at the end of that sentence. We love how the book ends; it was one of the reasons why we both knew we wanted to do it — and we ended in exactly that place. And I’ve been party to this in the past with shows like this, where you build a whole factory, and it only pumps out 10 cars and closes up shop. It’s a bummer.”
A Second Season is Still a Possibility
Although a second season seems unlikely, ‘Shogun’ has the potential to extend its story, as seen with other titles. Marks did not completely shut down the possibility, yet he said that if a Season 2 were to happen, it wouldn’t be in the immediate future:
“Oh, that’s just our bodies talking. Like, do you want to have another kid right now? [Laughs] You know, we also made this show so long ago because of the long tail of post-production on it. It’s not like a normal TV series, where if we were in a situation like this promoting it, we wouldn’t just be in the writers room already, we’d be on set shooting season two by now.”
What’s ‘Shogun’ About?
‘Shogun’ has been praised for its authentic portrayal of Feudal Japan, featuring Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, and Anna Sawai in leading roles. The story explores the lives of Lord Yoshii Toranaga and John Blackthorne, whose fate intertwines following a shipwreck on the Japanese coast against a backdrop of political issues and cultural exchanges.
The series’ development spanned nearly a decade, with Marks and Kondo joining the project in 2018 to accurately depict the details of 17th-century Japan. Hiroyuki Sanada not only starred as the lead actor on screen but also aimed to bridge Eastern and Western storytelling as a producer.
‘Shogun’ has reached a milestone as FX’s most-watched streaming premiere to date, with 9 million views globally within the first six days. However, the creators seem to be content with the series concluding at the end of its original source material, James Clavell’s novel.
For those who want to watch Shogun, new episodes premiere every Tuesday on FX and stream on Hulu. The first three episodes are already available to watch now.
