Adaptation of James Clavell's iconic novel finds home at Hulu and FX
Shōgun is a historical-drama limited series created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for Hulu and FX. It is based on James Clavell's 1975 novel which previously received another television adaptation on NBC in 1980 led by Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune. The original novel presents a fictionalized adaptation of actual events. John Blackthorne is loosely inspired by the real-life English navigator William Adams who achieved the status of "samurai" while in Japan under Tokugawa Ieyasu (depicted as the character Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the story).
Co-creator Justin Marks has worked on such titles as Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, The Jungle Book and Top Gun: Maverick. Rachel Kondo is a writer and O. Henry Award finalist for her short story "Girl of Few Seasons." The duo also serve as executive producers on Shōgun alongside Edward L. McDonnell, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Michael De Luca and Michaela Clavell. Additional producers include star Hiroyuki Sanada and Eriko Miyagawa. Directors on the series include Jonathan van Tulleken (who directs the first two episodes), Charlotte Brändström, Hiromi Kamata and Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour.
Cosmo Jarvis stars in Shōgun as Pilot Major John Blackthorne. Hiroyuki Sanada portrays Lord Yoshii Toranaga. Additional cast members include Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko, Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige, Fumi Nikaido as Ochiba No Kata, Tokuma Nishioka as Toda "Iron Fist" Hiromatsu, Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari, Ako as Daiyoin Lady Iyo, Shinnosuke Abe as Toda Buntaro, Yasunari Takeshima as Muraji, Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi, Toshi Toda as Sugiyama, Hiro Kanagawa as Igurashi and Néstor Carbonell as Vasco Rodrigues.