Could FX Make More “Shōgun”? An Expert Shares What a Potential Season 2 Could Be Like
Could FX Make More “Shōgun”? An Expert Shares What a Potential Season 2 Could Be Like
“Clavell planned to cover far more of Japan’s history,” Historian Dr. Adam Clulow explained during an interview I had with him as FX’s series adaptation of Shōgun concluded. As the author of The Company and the Shogun: The Dutch Encounter with Tokugawa Japan and a number of other works on Japanese history in this period, Adam Clulow is well qualified to discuss the true stories that inspired James Clavell’s novel, how series creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo paired Clavell’s work with history, the role of the 1975 novel and 1980 miniseries in invigorating massive interest in Japanese culture, and what effect this new series adaptation could have.
But like anyone who is mourning the loss of Toranaga Tuesdays (a fan-branded name for the show’s episodic release schedule), what I really wanted to know was: could there be more Shōgun? I don’t feel ready to say goodbye to this story, and it turns out James Clavell may not have been finished with it either.
