FX’s adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 bestselling novel “Shōgun” will air on the network starting on February 27, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about it.
The Story
The 10-episode limited series is set in Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war.
Producer Hiroyuki Sanada (“The Last Samurai,” “John Wick 4”) stars as “Lord Yoshii Toranaga” who is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him.
When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, “John Blackthorne,” played by Cosmo Jarvis (“It Is In All of Us,” “Peaky Blinders”), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power, and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants.
Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, “Toda Mariko,” played by Anna Sawai (“Pachinko,” “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line.
While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her, and her duty to her late father.
This miniseries marks the second based off Clavell’s book. A 1980 series starring Richard Chamberlain as Blackthorne aired on NBC with five episodes.
The Cast
The FX version of “Shōgun” features an acclaimed Japanese cast, unprecedented for an American production.
In addition to Sanada, Jarvis, and Sawai, the cast includes Tadanobu Asano as “Kashigi Yabushige,” a notorious backstabber and close ally of Toranaga; Hiroto Kanai as “Kashigi Omi,” the young leader of the fishing village where Blackthorne’s ship was found; Takehiro Hira as “Ishido Kazunari,” a powerful bureaucrat who is Toranaga’s chief rival; Moeka Hoshi as “Usami Fuji,” a widow who must find new purpose amidst her lord’s fight; Tokuma Nishioka as “Toda Hiromatsu,” Toranaga’s trusted general and closest friend; Shinnosuke Abe as “Toda Hirokatsu” (“Buntaro”), Mariko’s jealous husband; Yuki Kura as “Yoshii Nagakado,” the brash son of Toranaga with a strong desire to prove himself; Yuka Kouri as “Kiku,” a courtesan renowned for her artistry throughout Japan; and Fumi Nikaido as “Ochiba no Kata,” the revered mother of the heir who will stop at nothing to put an end to Toranaga and his threat to her son’s power.
How to Watch
The series will debut on the FX network with the first two epieodes on Tuesday, February 27th, at 10pm ET/9pm CT, with single episodes to follow for the next eight weeks on Tuesdays at 10pm ET/9pm CT.
It will also be available to stream on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.
“Shōgun” is created for television by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks, with Marks serving as Showrunner and Executive Producer alongside Michaela Clavell, Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, and Kondo. The series is produced by FX Productions.
Trailers
Here is a look at FX’s “Shōgun,” where we meet Lord Yoshii Toranaga, John Blackthorne, and Toda Mariko, as well as get an understanding for the era in which people lived and died by the blade:
FX has also released this featurette, “The World of Shōgun: History & Backstory,” which is a well-done primer on the history behind the rise of Warlords, Samurai, and a powerful new empire in Feudal Japan where “Shōgun” takes place.