The first two episodes of “Shogun,” an epic drama series based on the James Clavell novel of the same name, are already here. It premieres today (Feb. 27th) on FX (10 p.m. ET). But if you are wondering where to stream it, the answer is Hulu and Disney+ (via the Hulu hub).
Season 1 of “Shogun” will have 10 episodes, which will be released weekly every Tuesday. The remaining episodes drop every morning at 12:01 a.m. ET/PT on Hulu, while it broadcasts later at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
The series, created by the husband-and-wife team of Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, is set in Feudal Japan, at the dawn of the civil war that defined the century. It follows British sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who gets stranded in Japan and gets involved in the political and cultural landscape of the country.
‘Shogun’: What are the first reviews saying?
Critic Rebecca Nicholson wrote for The Guardian that the series adapts the 1975 novel “with ambition and evident respect for its source material,” and that “The result is peacocking, mesmerising television.” She gave the series four out of five stars.
Meanwhile, Alison Herman wrote for Variety that the series “is the most transportive TV epic since ‘Game of Thrones’,” as well as praising its “balance between sweeping grandeur and intimate psychology.”
Cosmo Jarvis and John Blackthorne (FX)
Mike Hale of The New York Times writes that the series “delivers” and that it “is sumptuously produced, mostly well acted and not excessively sentimental or sensational.” He also praised the production values, which look “credible.”
Is Shogun based on a real story?
Clavell’s novel is a fictionalized version of real historical events. The main character, Blackthorne, is inspired by the real-life English navigator William Adams. Adams, when he was in Japan, became a samurai under Tokugawa Ieyasu, whom the character Lord Toranaga, played by Hiroyuki Sanada, is based on.
Who is in the rest of the cast?
Anna Sawai will play Toda Mariko, a noblewoman who becomes Blackthorne’s translator and love interest. The rest of the cast also includes Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaido, Tokuma Nishioka and Takehiro Hira.
