Shogun showrunners cast doubt on Season 2 renewal

Shogun producers have shared why a Season 2 renewal for the popular FX and Hulu show may not happen.

Based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel Shogun, the new period drama from FX and Hulu has proven to be nothing short of an instant hit.

On top of receiving universal acclaim, Shogun managed to surpass The Bear by having the most-watched premiere on Hulu, with 9 million viewers counted as of March 6.

The critical praise and history-making viewership numbers don’t guarantee the series a second run, though.

Shogun Season 2 may not happen

During a sit-down with THR, showrunners Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks addressed the possibility of a sophomore effort for Shogun since it’s billed as a limited series.

When asked about a second season, Marks explained that the duo’s love for how the Clavell novel ended informed their Season 1 conclusion. “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.”

In other words, by the end of Season 1, the Shogun team will have thoroughly explored the source material from cover to cover.

Still, months upon months of prep work went into producing Shogun. So when pressed as to whether or not his response translated to a “fairly definitive no on season two,” Marks added:

“Oh, that’s just our bodies talking. Like, do you want to have another kid right now? You know, we also made this show so long ago, because of the long tail of postproduction on it. It’s not like a normal TV series, where 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.”

If Shogun doesn’t get a Season 2, the producers at least hope they’ll have the opportunity to share their knowledge with friends who may need a “production primer on feudal Japan at some point.”

New episodes of Shogun air Tuesday on FX and Hulu.