Shōgun, initially a limited series, is coming back for an extra two seasons – though everyone is a tad concerned about how that's going to work.
Deadline reports that star Hiroyuki Sanada will return as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, and he will continue to produce too. Co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo are back as well, along with executive producer Michaela Clavell.
The series, which debuted on FX/Hulu in the US and Disney Plus internationally, is based on James Clavell's novel of the same name. Though that's one book in the six part Asian Saga, it doesn't strictly have a sequel. That means some are worried about the show running out of source material.
"Gonna be really interesting what a season 2 looks like, given that there is only the one book that they adapted for this first season. The show would be going into uncharted territory, so I hope they have a good story planned!" says one person.
"While I love Shōgun, is this a good idea? They ran out of source material since there only is one book," points out someone else.
"Think they should leave it, limited series hold a lot of power," says another fan. "BUT I also want more and historical fiction is and easy source to mine. Have no doubt Hiroyuki will keep on them as producer to make sure it’s good and authentic too."
Fears about the series running out of source material might be soothed by the news that FX and Hulu are working with James Clavell's estate on the extra seasons, though it's not currently clear whether the new episodes will be based on the other books in the Asian Saga.
On Twitter, Marks also shared how the future seasons came to be, explaining that he and Kondo had jokingly pitched a scene idea to Michaela Clavell and FX's Gina Balian, which led to them continuing to think about what might happen next. "So we kept going. When production wrapped, we sat on our porch on Maui, teasing out this idea as it grew larger and larger... richer with real history... this essential thematic QUESTION that felt, frankly, unfinished until we could reach the end. By December we had an outline…" he wrote.
"And to be honest, we never thought it would become real," he continued. "This show was hard, and big, and took a lot of work to get where we are. And the book was done. But to be even more honest, we never dreamed S1 would come together like it did either, so here we are… Rachel and I get on a plane for Japan tomorrow to begin the journey. We want to see if THIS really is what we think it is. We reunite with the amazing writers of S1 in July. As someone once said, tomorrow is tomorrow... but today we'll learn how to swim."
Shōgun is streaming on Hulu/Disney Plus now. You can fill out your watchlist with our guide to the most exciting new TV shows on the way.
