Shōgun season 2 is underway – here's what it could be about

Shogun is one of the first contenders for The best TV show of 2024. The series, which debuted in February, is smart, complicated, tremendously well done, beautifully acted and the most-watched FX series in history, according to a press release from the network. All of which makes Thursday's announcement that the show will return for more seasons unsurprising. The only question that remains is what exactly those seasons will be about.

According to FX's announcement, the series will return for two more seasons. Development on the new seasons will begin soon, with work taking place between FX and the original's estate. Shogun Author, James Clavell. The upcoming seasons will also bring back many of the key talents behind season 1, including co-creators, showrunners, executive producers and writers, Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, as well as executive producer Michaela Clavell and producer and star of the Hiroyuki Sanada series. , who played Lord Yoshii Toranaga in season 1.

Shōgun'The first season of the show is an adaptation of James Clavell's novel of the same name, which was originally released in 1975. The first season of the show adapts Clavell's entire (very long) novel, which leaves the question of what exactly it will cover in its next two seasons. up for debate.

Photo: Colin Bentley/FX

A possible option for the exhibition could be to seek inspiration from Clavell's other works. While Shogun is undoubtedly the most popular of the books, Clavell wrote three more novels in his Asian Saga, with Shogun being the first chronologically. He also wrote Tai Pana book about two merchants who ventured into Hong Kong in the 1840s after the First Opium War, Gai Jina sequel to Tai Pan set 20 years later and mainly in Japan, and Noble Housewhich is set in Hong Kong in 1963.

This variety of novels could provide a solid foundation for multiple seasons, each taking place in a different time and place. However, this would bring with it many other problems, including issues of cultural accuracy. Both Marks and Kondo have been very vocal about the accuracy of Shogun being extremely important to them, frequently rewriting scenes to better reflect Japanese cultural attitudes of the time. Suddenly transplanting the series to a completely new country, with a completely new culture and different customs would be a huge task and would surely change the show significantly. Although that doesn't mean it couldn't be done.

Perhaps even more compelling is the presence of Sanada. With the legendary Japanese actor's return to the show and his breakout performance as Toranaga a highlight of the series' first season, it seems more likely that Marks, Kondo and the rest of the production will opt to keep the story in Japan. and create a series that is a more direct continuation of ShogunThe story of. Fortunately, this period in Japanese history has no shortage of fascinating and complex topics for the show to cover.

Photo: Katie Yu/FX

While Clavell's original novel renames famous Japanese historical figures, it is closely based on the country's actual history, meaning we too can look back at history to see what might be next for the show. Toranaga is based on Tokugawa Ieyasu, a true Japanese daimyo and the first shogun of the powerful Tokugawa shogunate that ruled the country from 1603 to 1868.

The first season ends with Toranaga about to capture Osaka Castle, something Ieyasu actually did (albeit a little before 1600). So if the timeline of Japanese history is what the show plans to follow, then the next season will likely deal with the consequences of Toranaga's decision to openly seize power. In real life, Ieyasu encountered quite a bit of resistance in the form of a rival daimyo named Ishida Mitsunari who would lead an army in opposition to Ieyasu, throwing Japan into a civil war.

We'll stop the story there at the risk of revealing several potentially significant plot points, but it goes without saying that a civil war would lead to future seasons of Shogun Lots of land for great television.

Of course, we won't know for sure what exactly these next seasons of Shogun It'll be up to FX to make an official announcement, but we know we'll be watching no matter what.