Disney’s FX & Hulu to extend ‘Shōgun’ with development on two further seasons

Shogun (Source: Disney)

FX is set to extend scripted show Shōgun by two further seasons after the drama, which had been initially slated as a limited series, became one of the network’s biggest hits.

Disney-owned FX is working on the new episodes with streaming stablemate Hulu and the estate of James Clavell, who wrote the eponymous novel on which the book is based.

The show’s co-creators, executive producers and writers Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo are attached to development, alongside fellow EP Michaela Clavell and series star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada.

Production timing has not been locked in, but a writers’ room is being assembled and will begin this summer.

Through its first nine weeks, Shōgun became FX’s most-watched show ever based on global hours streamed. The 10-episode first season, which concluded on 23 April, was made available to stream on Disney+ globally and on Hulu in the US.

The series is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. It tracks what happens when a local lord who is fighting for his survival finds a mysterious European ship marooned in a nearby fishing village.

Shōgun featured Japanese stars including Tadanobu Asano, Hiroto Kanai and Takehiro Hira. It was created for television by Kondo and Marks, with the latter attached as showrunner alongside Michaela Clavell, Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca and Kondo. The series is produced by FX Productions.