Where To Watch ‘Shōgun,’ the Epic New Limited Series
One of our most highly anticipated new series arrives on FX later this month: Shōgun, based on the novel by James Clavell, is a new 10-episode limited series produced by and starring the great Hiroyuki Sanada.
If you tuned in to the Super Bowl on February 11, you might have seen the extended trailer for Shōgun, which features a predominantly Japanese cast, including Sanada (John Wick: Chapter 4, Sunshine), Tadanobu Asano (Mortal Kombat, Thor), and Anna Sawai (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters).
The new FX series looks like a proper epic that does justice to Clavell’s novel, first published in 1975. Shōgun was previously adapted just one other time, as a nine-hour TV miniseries that aired in 1980, written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Bolt (Lawrence of Arabia) and starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune.
Shōgun was a major bestseller throughout the late ’70s, and for many Americans, it was their first real exposure to the culture and history of Japan. The new limited series—created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks—premieres February 27 on FX, with new episodes airing weekly. If you don’t have cable, you can watch Shōgun on Hulu, where episodes will be available to stream the day after their network premiere.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for Shōgun:
FX’s Shōgun, an original adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel, is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Producer Hiroyuki Sanada stars as “Lord Yoshii Toranaga” who is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him.
When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, “John Blackthorne” (Cosmo Jarvis), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants. Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, “Toda Mariko” (Anna Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line.
While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.
Shōgun also stars Cosmo Jarvis, Néstor Carbonell, Takehiro Hira, Fumi Nikaido, Toshi Toda, and Hiro Kanagawa.
(featured image: FX / Hulu)
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