Shōgun may be known as the show that made Emmys history now, but prior to the groundbreaking show's release, many within FX were concerned that a show primarily in a non-English language wouldn't resonate with audiences in the U.S. This is a concern that was revealed by the person who runs FX, John Landgraf, all while Landgraf was a guest on The Ringer podcast known as The Town with Matthew Belloni. According to Landgraf, not only were many of the other higher-ups at FX concerned about how Shōgun would perform, he even admits to having to mislead them somewhat to get the show's momentum going.
Landgraf said he was "sweating bullets" leading up to the release of Shōgun, with him even pushing back a little bit on host Matthew Belloni's claim that he wouldn't be fired from FX if the show wasn't a hit. While Landgraf claims that he was never given an outright "no" about making the Hiroyuki Sanada-led samurai epic, the phrase he did hear quite a bit was "are you sure?" It's a question he was given a lot, particularly when it came to casting non-bilingual, native Japanese actors in pivotal roles and having the majority of the show be in the Japanese language.
Nevertheless, Landgraf persisted, and even promised the show would have "a really big star to play the Western male lead." That got a big chuckle out of the audience, as the part of John Blackthorne ultimately went to Cosmo Jarvis, who, despite being perfect for the part, wasn't a very well-known star at the time. Of course, everything ultimately worked out, and while the ten-month shoot had its challenges, John Landgraf still remembers the filming of Shōgun as a "joyful" experience.
The Story of 'Shōgun' Will Continue in Season 2
Shōgun, like the show that it is a remake of, was initially envisioned as a one-season limited series, being a direct adaptation of the novel by James Clavell. However, Shōgun became such a major success both critically and ratings-wise, pressure to continue the story despite no longer having any source material to work with grew and grew. These calls for more didn't go unnoticed by FX, as eventually the show was indeed renewed for not just Season 2, but Season 3 as well. This all but assures the fight for Japan and the search for the next Shōgun will continue in two more seasons of Shōgun.
Shōgun Season 1 is now available to stream on Hulu. You can listen to the full episode of The Town below.
When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales of power and devastate his enemies.
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