I can’t remember the last time I was as immediately obsessed with a show as I was with FX’s Shogun. It’s must-watch television and sure to become your next obsession, too.
Based on James Clavell’s 1975 historical novel of the same name, Shogun is set in feudal Japan on the brink of civil war in 1600. While its characters are fictionalized, it’s based on historical events. This isn’t the first time the book has been brought to the small screen, either, having been adapted into a miniseries in 1980. I haven’t read the book or seen the 1980 TV series, so I can’t say how faithful an adaptation it is or how it compares, but I can say that the 2024 series is already shaping up to be one of the best new TV shows I’ve seen in years.
The first episode, “Anjin” (the Japanese word for “pilot,” a clever title that refers to both the character John Blackthorne and to the fact that it’s the pilot episode), thrusts us head-first into a world of political intrigue and global conflict. Smaller-scale political and social dissent plays out against the backdrop of colonial religious imperialism and international wars. It’s a world of samurai, sailors, and spies, not to mention courtesans and Catholic priests, all vying for power in the vacuum left by the death of Japan’s supreme leader, whose young son isn’t yet of age to take over.
Our entry point into this world is John Blackthorne (played with Tom Hardy-esque energy by Cosmo Jarvis)—an English navigator on a Dutch merchant ship seeking to establish trade with Japan and disrupt Portuguese-Catholic influence in the area. Blackthorne and what’s left of the ship’s crew get shipwrecked near a coastal fishing village, which sends him on a path to becoming embroiled in the struggle for power among Japan’s Council of Regents.
Among those Regents is Lord Yoshii Toranaga (played by John Wick: Chapter Four‘s Hiroyuki Sanada), who comes from a powerful lineage and must navigate the political threats that surround him on all sides and want him dead. Finally, rounding out our protagonists is Lady Mariko (played by Anna Sawai), a noblewoman with a dark past who Toranaga enlists as a translator to help communicate with Blackthorne.
If that sounds like a lot—well, it is. Shogun is not the show to put on if you just want to play something in the background as you mindlessly do other tasks. It demands your attention and doesn’t hold your hand. Some of the dialogue is in English, standing in at times for Portuguese, but most of it is in Japanese with subtitles. Yet the show never feels overwhelming, and it’s so gripping and well-done that you inevitably get swept up in it.
I can’t really speak to the authenticity, but it feels authentic, and its commitment to having its mostly Japanese characters, played by Japanese actors, actually speak Japanese feels refreshing in a TV landscape that most often caters to a white Western audience.
Beyond that, the worldbuilding and costumes are exquisite, and the show looks amazing all around, with beautiful cinematography and set pieces that feel seriously impressive for a TV show.
While episode one introduces us to the world and its characters, episode two, “Servants of Two Masters”, brings our leads together and gives us more scope and nuance for the conflicts at the show’s centre. I was already hooked from episode one, but the second episode pulled me in even deeper.
I hate to make this comparison, because they really are different (one is fantasy and the other is historical), and because Game of Thrones lost a lot of goodwill as it went on, but Shogun reminds me in some ways of early Game of Thrones, in that it feels truly epic. It has a sprawling cast of complex characters, deals with complicated structures of power and political intrigue, and features some fantastic action and gruesome violence. Because it’s a limited series, however, there’s less risk that it’ll overstay its welcome. So far, it’s done anything but. I can’t wait to see where it goes, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting each new episode.
Verdict
FX’s Shogun is already shaping up to be something special. Though its complicated historical setting, sprawling cast, and ambitious scope can feel overwhelming, viewers who are willing to give it their full attention will be rewarded with sumptuous visuals and gripping, transportive storytelling.