Shogun Seasons 2 And 3 Confirmed At FX And Hulu With Creative Team Returning (UPDATED)
Update 5/16/24: FX, Hulu, and the James Clavell estate have announced that they are officially "working to extend the critically acclaimed global hit drama 'Shōgun', moving forward to develop the saga with two additional seasons of the drama series." Co-creators, executive producers, and writers Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, executive producer Michaela Clavell, and star/producer Hiroyuki Sanada are all "on board for the development." The writers' room is coming together and will start work this summer, but no production timeline has been locked in yet. Our original article from May 10, 2024 follows.
The entire world has caught "Shōgun" fever and FX seems to have taken notice. Despite originally announcing the show back in 2018 specifically as a miniseries, the critical acclaim and sheer popularity (not to mention the very high quality of writing) of the show apparently might have resulted in a change of plans. Only a few short weeks after the season finale aired and brought a fitting (if deliberately anticlimactic) end to the sweeping story of Japanese warlords embroiled in political conflict, we've now received word that this limited series might not end up being so "limited" after all. If — and it's admittedly a big "if" — everything falls into place, season 2 could very well be in the cards.
Early indications are pointing to another thrilling return to feudal Japan with some of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) characters in tow. Deadline has revealed that lead actor/producer Hiroyuki Sanada has secured a new contract to reprise his role as Lord Yoshii Toranaga. Although his overall arc of becoming one of the leading shōgun leaders seemed to come to a definitive conclusion by the end of the 10-episode season, this news indicates that the writers intend for Toranaga to play another crucial role in whatever story is to come. In fact, the report goes out of its way to note that, "Securing Sanada [...] has been considered crucial to any plan to extend 'Shōgun' beyond its original installment."
To be clear, there's currently no official confirmation as of yet that season 2 has been given a green light and, even more tellingly, FX doesn't appear to have decided whether to submit the series for Emmy consideration as a limited series or simply a drama series. But there's perhaps reason to hope. Read on for more details!
What could Shōgun season 2 look like?
We might be closer than ever before to a second season of the hit FX series "Shōgun," but we have a ways to go before that becomes official. Created by writers Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, the sprawling drama starred Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano, Yûki Kedôin, Akiko Kobayashi, Takehiro Hira, Eushin Lee, and many more. Not all of the ensemble cast would return for another go around, of course, but the season did end on an intriguing note that could point the way forward for future stories in this world. Securing a deal with Sanada for a potential return was step one to making this a reality; now comes the hard part.
By the end of the 10 episodes, Lord Yoshii Toranaga lays out what events may come to be in a flash-forward vision of sorts. (We're keeping this relatively spoiler-free for those who haven't had a chance to finish the entirety of the first season just yet.) Kondo and Marks could simply take the transcription route and depict those narrative beats straightforwardly, using another 10-episode season to fill in the gaps accordingly. On the other hand, it's also possible that the master planner and strategist didn't think everything through as well as he thought, cleverly using this what-if scenario against viewers to change things up and keep us on our toes. The Deadline report is thin on any actual plot details, unfortunately, so speculation will surely run rampant in the meantime.
"Shōgun" is loosely based on James Clavell's five-novel series, meaning there's plenty of material to help guide the way for season 2 (although the source material is more of an anthology, changing up the setting and characters with each story). Stay tuned!