FX’s Shogun became a massive hit this year after premiering in February, but the historical drama isn’t the first adaptation of James Clavell’s novel.
In 1980, Richard Chamberlain starred in an NBC miniseries based on the novel, which is a fictional retelling of the power struggles in 17th century Japan after John Blackburn’s impactful arrival. The series consists of five episodes which aired over five nights in September 1980, and later even got a short theatrical release. Now, all twelve hours of the original Shogun TV adaptation is available to stream.
The Emmy-award winning miniseries landed on Paramount+ this week, much to the relief of Shogun fans who are already pretty happy by the influx of Shogun news.
Even though the 2024’s adaptation was originally marketed as a limited series, FX has been quietly working to adapt even more of Clavell’s work to the big screen. In a press release, FX has announced that “FX, Hulu and the Estate of James Clavell are working to extend the critically acclaimed global hit drama Shōgun, moving forward to develop the saga with two additional seasons of the drama series.”
Whether you like it or not, Shogun is here to stay. Now is the time to really commit!
You can catch Shogun (2024) on Hulu.