Hulu may not be the first service that people think of when they imagine the top original programming on streaming, but it’s quietly been climbing up in the prestige ranks with a few shows that have become major awards darlings – including one series that now holds the record for the most Primetime Emmy wins in a single year (18). Thanks to a shrewd move by FX and Hulu, the Emmy magnate is back in production on its next season.
Shōgun Season 2 is now officially in production, and we’re getting our first look at it via a new social media video that’s been posted by the network. Check that out below!
#Shogun: Season 2 is officially in production! pic.twitter.com/0ESRLz4g0z
The video is a short teaser that features series producer and Emmy-winning lead actor Hiroyuki Sanda announcing that “Shōgun Season 2 is… In production.” However, the teaser is formatted in the modern TikTok style: while Hiroyuki starts out in his civilian clothes, preparing things on set, the last line (“In production”) cuts to him in full regalia as his character, Lord Yoshi Toranaga, the new Shōgun of Japan, after winning a deadly chess game of war and politics in Season 1. Wedged in between the two versions of Sanada is a sizzle reel of behind-the-scenes production footage, which teases how Shōgun will once again be sparing no effort or expense to create the ancient world of feudal Japan.
The production looks lavish and lovely, without a doubt. However, the pretty aesthetic isn’t all viewers will need from Shōgun Season 2: The bigger risk will be getting the second season to have a story that is as deep, thrilling, and cohesive as Season 1.
The story behind Shōgun‘s record-breaking sweep at the Emmys got a bit… murky. Shōgun was originally presented as a “limited series,” which was based on the 1975 novel by author James Clavell – and that’s exactly what we got. The TV series (from showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo) was regarded as a near-perfect adaptation of the book, from start to the big twist finish. However, FX-Hulu looked at a similar recent example (HBO’s Watchmen, which swept every Emmys category available to the limited series category. That was a big win for HBO, that year, but since Watchmen didn’t run for any additional seasons, and the Emmy and Golden Globes nominations were limited, it was a limited win for the network.
When Shōgun was waiting on its awards season recognition, FX-Hulu decided to take a bold swing and announce that a second season of the show was in the works. That shifted Shōgun from a limited series to a regular series, opening the doors so that the show could compete across all major categories, which ultimately resulted in those record-breaking wins.
At the same time, Shōgun Season 2 will be taking the bold step of continuing the story of Lord Toranaga as he tries to hold his seat of power as Shōgun of Japan. Clavell never wrote a sequel novel, so it will be uncharted territory, narratively speaking; however, Shōgun was a dramatic novel that was based on actual Japanese history, and the lead characters of Toranaga, English naval pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), and Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai) were all based on real-life historical figures. SPOILERS Mariko died at the end of Season 1, but the Blackthorne lived and was seduced into Toranaga’s service, as Toranaga secretly achieved his ruthless ascension to ultimate power. That’s fertile ground for deeper character drama in Season 2, while history provides some pretty exciting accounts of what Toranaga had to contend with during his reign of power.
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