FX – the very same network behind Sons of Anarchy, Atlanta. Fargo, American Horror Story, and more serialised bangers – is cooking up something verifiably tasty in the content kitchen these days. As revealed during the Disney Investors conference last week, in the next year or so, global audiences will be enjoying gritty episode after episode of Shogun (which is currently being hailed as Game of Thrones in feudal Japan).
Adapted from the best-selling 1975 novel written by James Clavell – and attempted once before by NBC in 1980 starring Richard Chamberlain, which earned a Primetime Emmy for best limited series – production was initially greenlit in 2018 and scheduled to shoot on location in Japan earlier this year. That was, of course, until the matter of COVID-19 disrupted the entire modern world from top to bottom. Now, it appears as though Shogun is once again back on track with quite the roster of talent signed on to make it all happen.
Jon Favreau’s live-action The Jungle Book adaptation and Top Gun: Maverick screenwriter, Counterpart creator – Justin Marks – has penned the first two episodes, with wife Rachel Kondo reportedly acting as supervising producer. Seasoned director and HBO alum – Tim Van Patten (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones) – will also be serving as executive producer. In terms of an official showrunner and episode directors, those details have yet to be confirmed.
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Shogun will follow the collision course of two ambitious men from completely different worlds and a “mysterious” female samurai:
- John Blackthorne – “a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan… whose unfamiliar culture will redefine him”
- Lord Toranaga – “a shrewd and powerful daimyo (powerful lord who were vassals to the shogun) at odds with his own dangerous political rivals”
- Lady Mariko – “a woman with invaluable skills but dishonourable family ties who must prove her value and allegiance”
Yes, we got mad The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise vibes too.
As per the original novel’s synopsis, Blackthorne will be forced to navigate the closed society that is 17th century Japan – “a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin”. Negotiating with foreign people, customs, language, as well as “his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom” – this is ultimately a tale of survival. And as internal political strife coupled with the obvious clash of cultures inevitably leads to conflict, Blackthorne is pushed to the limits.
Shogun season 1 on FX will run for ten episodes. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the tantalising details come (check out the full run of Shogun’s 1980 televised adaptation below).
