One of the best TV series of 2024 is “Shogun,” an epic period drama set in feudal Japan and starring Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada (who also serves as executive producer). Based on James Clavell’s novel of the same name, many fans wonder if the show will come back for a second season.
The series was adapted by the husband-and-wife team of Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, who talked with The Hollywood Reporter about the possibility of expanding the story. The truth is that “Shogun” tells the complete story of the book, and it has a conclusive ending.
However, “Shogun” is part of Clavell’s “The Asian Saga,” which tells other stories in other parts of the continent with minor ties to “Shogun.” So, there’s a possibility that the series could become an anthology. Here’s what Marks, Kondo and Sanada said about it.
‘Shogun’: Could there be more seasons of the epic show?
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Marks said that he “would be open to it” if they “could find a story.” However, he says that the biggest challenge is “not even topping the book, but, how do you even equal the roadmap that Clavell laid out?”
“And I don’t know if it’s possible. I don’t know if Clavell could have done it either. That’s probably why he moved on to other books too, right?” he added. Marks also said that while he would be open to adapting other books of The Asian Saga, he thinks that making an anthology series out of it it’s not easy.
“(…) The Asian Saga goes all over the place for good reason. So it’s hard. You’re not actually building off that same language in the same way,” he told THR. Meanwhile, Sanada, who plays lord Toranaga, also expressed being open to a continuation.
Earlier in the season, he told THR that “no one knows what’s going to happen next” but “we have history, real history models, and clearly, we know what happened. So, yeah. It all depends on the audience’s reaction.”
Audience reaction seems to have been good. Apart from being critically acclaimed, the show has received good viewership numbers. According to ReelGood, the show drew 9 million views across Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ in its first six days of release.
