One of the most talked about series of 2024 is FX’s feudal Japan series, “Shōgun,” which just ended its ten-episode run on Hulu. The acclaimed series centers on the collision of two ambitious men, an English sailor (Cosmo Jarvis), who is shipwrecked in Japan, and Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a shrewd, powerful Japanese feudal lord, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals. Together, they form a tentative alliance that mutually benefits their aims of staying alive in a foreign land and staying in power amid much dissension. And as a series creator, you know you’ve done something right when everyone is asking what’s next and if there’ll be a season two, which seems to be the question on everyone’s mind now.
READ MORE: ‘Shōgun’ Review: FX’s Lavish Action Samurai Period Piece Reshapes Beloved Original
While the series was conceived as a one-off limited series, “Shōgun,” masterminds Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo are essentially being asked incessantly about a season two.
“No one knows what’s going to happen next,” actor and producer Sanada told THR earlier in the season. “But we have history, real history models, and clearly, we know what happened. So, yeah. It all depends on the audience’s reaction.”
That seems to be the go-to answer for everyone involved: if the audience wants more, maybe there will be more. But as THR points out in a new interview with Marks and Kondo, the audience definitely wants a second season and or any possible follow-up.
However, given the series was based on James Clavell’s famous novel, was fully adapted, and there’s no source material for more, both Marks and Kondo sounded somewhat skeptical and unsure of where to go next.
Asked about season two, despite what seems like completed and rather final character arcs (at least one major character dies in a poetic sacrifice), Marks sounded non-committal and admitted they don’t even have a story in mind.
“I don’t know. I keep saying it’s like we want to let everyone be on the same page when it comes to the book. I think if we had a story, if we could find a story, we would be open to it,” he explained. “But I don’t think that anyone ever wants to be out over their skis without a roadmap and everything. And it’s also just about, do people want more of it?”
Assured by the trade that yes, audiences definitely want more, the pair still demurred.
“It’s also about—not even topping the book, but how do you even equal the roadmap that Clavell laid out?” Marks asked. “And I don’t know if it’s possible. I don’t know if Clavell could have done it, either. That’s probably why he moved on to other books, too, right? He knew what he had done. Yeah, it’s a tough one.”
Even when it was suggested that “Shōgun” could go the way of anthology series like “Fargo” and “American Horror Story,” Marks suggested his series was a different beast.
“Yeah. But it’s tough because, in Fargo, you’re still telling different threads of the same place, whereas The Asian Saga goes all over the place for good reason. So it’s hard. You’re not actually building off that same language in the same way.”
“Shōgun” sounds like it took at least half a decade to get made. Kondo said, “It took us five years to bring this to fruition and double that amount of time for FX,” so even if they and FX are fully on board, audiences may have to wait a long time for any kind of “Shōgun,” follow-up. So, optimistic fans should at least take note and proceed with caution.