Shōgun Editors Address Possibility of Season 2

Will Shōgun get a Season 2? It’s a big question hanging over the series as it comes down to its final episodes. 

The question isn’t so much whether or not Shōgun merits a Season 2 renewal – the show is one of the most acclaimed new TV series of 2024. The question is whether or not FX and Disney-Hulu should pursue a second season, given that Shōgun is based on an acclaimed 1975 novel, and the show will cover all of the book’s source material in this one season. 

Literary adaptations are currently the biggest go-to source for cable and streaming services to make prestige TV series (see: Pretty Little Liars, Sharp Objects, The Last Thing He Told Me, etc.). Game of Thrones stands out as the best example of a book series becoming so popular for its TV adaptation that the show expands far beyond the source material. With Shōgun building the kind of buzz that it is, it would be easy for the studios behind it to keep the momentum going. 

Will Shōgun Get A Season 2 Renewal? 

ComicBook.com got to speak with Shōgun editors Maria Gonzales and Aika Miyake, and discuss the topic of construction of the show’s storyline in the edit bay, and whether or not they would like to see Shōgun the TV series continue past the events of the book. 

“I definitely feel very proud of the work that we’ve done and very satisfied with the show as is,” Gonzales said.  “At the time of completing, when we were done cutting, there wasn’t really any mention of, or any serious plans about a Season 2. And I think that’s kind of where we’re at still. I’m not sure if it will happen. Obviously, it’s out of our hands [laughs]; we’re the last people [to know].”

“Personally, I want to see Season 2!” Miyake added. “I have no idea.” 

“There’s definitely plenty to build on, for sure. All these characters were given their due, and it really feels like the show could keep living in that respect. It was really well done.”

The story of Shōgun wasn’t created for author James Clavell’s 1975 novel: Clavell spent years researching actual Japanese 17th-century history to come up with his story, and many of the principal characters (Blackthorne, Toranaga, Mariko) are fictionalized caricatures of real historical figures. Without dropping any SPOILERS, Clavell’s novel simply examined a moment in history when these characters’ fates converged, and changed the fate of Japan – it does not cover the full scope of every major character’s lifetime. 

That leaves some succulent meat on the bone for this Shōgun (2024) TV series to expand into a sequel or spinoff series – or a prequel series. It worked for Game of Thrones (which led to the prequel series House of the Dragon becoming a major hit). In Shōgun’s case, history has already written the source material needed to mine more content from – all it takes is the skilled team to properly adapt it. 

During the Shōgun press junket, showrunners Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks cast doubt on Season 2 happening: 

“We took the story to the end of the book and put a period at the end of that sentence. We love how the book ends; it was one of the reasons why we both knew we wanted to do it – and we ended in exactly that place,” Marks explained to THR. He also explained that “if we were in a situation like this promoting it, we wouldn’t just be in the writers room already, we’d be on set shooting season two by now.”

Would you like to see Shōgun continue after Season 1? Let us know in the comments! The series is streaming on Hulu.