Filming, storyline: What's next for Emmy-winning epic 'Shogun'
Shogun, the popular period drama series on Disney+ Hotstar, has made Emmy history by securing 18 wins in a single season. The series also outperformed the previous record of 13 awards set by HBO's 2008 miniseries John Adams at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend. Hiroyuki Sanada, who portrays Lord Yoshii Toranaga and won the Outstanding Lead Actor award in a Drama Series, recently shared insights about plans for Shogun Season 2 and its filming location.
Season 2 filming location
During a celebratory party for the nominees before the main Emmy Awards event on Saturday, Sanada revealed that the creative team is considering filming Shogun Season 2 in Japan. The first season was shot in Vancouver, Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are finding the possibilities, of course. Not everything but maybe part of [the show]," Sanada told The Hollywood Reporter.
Audience response prompted Season 2
Sanada also shared that the decision to create a second season was influenced by the positive response from viewers. "Because of the great reaction from the audience. We didn't think about that during the shooting during Season 1. A lot of people [said] we want to watch Season 2 or more, and we started thinking about that. So we just started preparing, writing..." he said.
'Shogun': A synopsis
Shogun is based on James Clavell's 1975 novel and is set in 17th-century Japan. The plot revolves around a British pilot, John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis), who gets stranded and becomes a trusted advisor to Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Sanada). The series, which first premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on February 27, was created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks. The cast also includes Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano, Takehiro Hira, Tommy Bastow, Nestor Carbonell, and Fumi Nikaido.
'Shogun' renewed for two more seasons
In May, Shogun was renewed for two more seasons following its commercial and critical success. Sanada mentioned that they would draw from different sources of inspiration for the upcoming seasons. "We don't have any more novels," he said. "We finished at the end of Season 1, but we have the real history and real models, and we know what happened so we can create original, fictional entertainment with a Shogun taste and quality with the real history."
