Not that anyone should be surprised, but FX’s hit historical drama Shōgun has dominated this year’s Creative Arts Emmys, breaking a major record in the process. Based on the novel by James Clavell, the series follows John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who finds himself shipwrecked in Japan in the 1600s. Taken as the property of the local lord, Blackthorne is used as a pawn in the ongoing political war between Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the four ruling lords. The series received rave reviews and sits at a near-perfect 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.
During the two-day awards event (which took place on September 7 and 8), Shōgun broke the record for most awards won by a single season of television. Once the ceremony concluded, Shōgun earned 14 awards in total. The Creative Arts Emmys commemorate the best technical achievements of the past year’s TV, ahead of the Primetime Emmys on September 15 (which Shōgun is also expected to dominate). The weekend was also a landmark event for FX, with The Bear taking home seven awards for Season 2, and FX winning a total of 27 Creative Arts Emmys across the weekend.
Shōgun took home the awards for Guest Actor in a Drama Series, Casting in a Drama Series, Period Costumes for a Series, Stunt Performance, Production Design For a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program, and Picture Editing for a Drama Series, among many others.Shōgun‘s wins have come with some criticism, however: While the series is undoubtedly deserving of its awards, Shōgun was initially billed as a Limited Series. But when FX announced that more seasons were in development, the show’s awards category was changed to reflect its new status.
Shōgun Season 2 & 3 Are in Development
The runaway success of Shōgun almost guaranteed that subsequent seasons would be discussed by studio heads at FX. Season 1 adapted the entirety of James Clavell’s mammoth-sized novel, and even improved on some of its underdeveloped areas. However, Seasons 2 and 3, which are currently in early development, are going off book, continuing the story of Lord Toranaga.
According to series star and executive producer Hiroyukui Sanada, writing has officially begun on Season 2 of Shōgun. Clavell’s novel was heavily inspired by real historical events, but embellished the truth for the sake of drama. Season 2, lacking a second novel, will be pulling directly from history, exploring the 300 years of peace that followed Tokugawa Ieyasu’s (the real figure whom Toranaga is based on) quest for power. Sanada explained:
“Even [though] we don’t have [the] novel anymore — we used it in season one. But we know how to do the storytelling, and also we have real history… real models. So we know what happened in [reality]… We just started to prepare. [The] writing room’s open.”
No prospective release dates have been announced for Seasons 2 or 3 of
Shogun
. Season 1 is currently streaming on Hulu.