Shōgun to risk miniseries perfection with additional seasons

Earlier today, FX announced that, with help from the James Clavell estate, the creators of Shōgun will begin work on more seasons of the supposedly one-and-done miniseries. It’s not surprising for those who’ve seen it, and those who’ve seen it are probably excited about returning to Japan for another round of imperial intrigue and guys being boiled alive. However, there’s always a risk.

Based on Shōgun, the epic novel by Clavell, the series was expected to run a single season, telling the story of the book. Now that Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) reached the end of his journey in Clavell’s telling, what more is there to say? There are six books in Clavel’s so-called “Asian Saga,” of which Shōgun is the third installment. Others include 1966’s King Rat, which tells of a Japanese POW camp in World War II, and Whirlwind, set in late-‘70s Iran. The only other Japan-set title is Gai-Jin, which takes place 260 years after the events of Shōgun.

Though those other works might inspire the following seasons, FX announced that “the story and the characters are intended to continue the saga that will likely yield an additional two seasons.” Producer and star Hiroyuki Sanada is “on board” for development. His character was tricksy enough to survive the first season, but we don’t see him living an additional 200 years to star on Gai-Jin. But who knows? Stranger things have happened.

Shōgun proved a masterfully told television season, with a strong cast of characters, many of whom are now dead. While we do not doubt that creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo understand their characters well enough to continue, the series has run out of runway regarding the source material. Following the novel, a time-tested story that’s survived as a cultural force for more than 50 years, with the continued adventures of Lord Yoshii Toranaga and his gaijin pal risks turning a sterling, self-contained story into another disappointment. We don’t want another Game Of Thrones situation where the show’s quality steadily declines as soon as the creators run out of books. Fingers crossed that is not the case.

A writers room is being assembled for the summer, so we probably won’t know the results of this gambit for at least another year or two. Shōgun was FX’s most expensive and most-watched show ever (“based on global hours streamed”). It was only a matter of time before they figured out more.