An all-time record: ‘Shōgun’ really cleaned up at the Emmys

Before the Primetime Emmys ceremony even aired, FX’s critically acclaimed period drama Shōgun had already broken a major Emmy record. By the time the two-day Creative Arts Emmys ceremony had ended the weekend prior, Shōgun had already won more Emmys than a single season of television in Emmy history.

So with 14 wins already in the bag going into the Primetime Emmys on Sunday, September 15, the question wasn’t whether Shōgun would break any more records. It was by how wide of a margin Shōgun would smash the previous record—13 Emmys, set by HBO’s John Adams in 2008—to bits.

Shōgun won four more Emmys during the Primetime event: Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Anna Sawai, Bead Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Hiroyuki Sanada, Best Drama, and Best Directing. That means the first season of Shōgun cumulatively won a whopping 18 Emmys.

Shōgun‘s wins were historic in more than one way. Anna Sawai became the first actor of Asian descent to win Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Hiroyuki Sanada was only the second person of Asian descent to win the Lead Actor category after Squid Game‘s Lee Jung-jae won a few years ago. And most of the Japanese cast and crew members nominated for Shōgun were largely the first Japanese nominees in all their Emmy categories. After so many years of “Oscars so white” trending over and over again, you simply love to see it.

So congratulations to Shōgun! According to the showrunners, two more seasons are in the works, so hopefully there will be many more Emmys to come for that team.