Golden Globes: 'Shogun' scripts history—wins every category it's nominated for
What's the story
The historical drama series Shogun has won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Drama.
The win comes after a successful awards season, including Outstanding Drama Series at the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards and Program of the Year from the Television Critics Association.
The FX/Hulu series, based on James Clavell's novel, beat strong contenders including Netflix's The Diplomat and Squid Game, Amazon's Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Peacock's The Day of the Jackal, and Apple TV+'s Slow Horses.
Debut success
'Shogun' won multiple awards in its debut season
Shogun's success is particularly remarkable as it won these awards in its first season.
It was originally conceived as a miniseries, following in the footsteps of the 1980 adaptation, which featured Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune.
However, owing to a strong critical reception and worldwide viewership, FX/Hulu expanded the story into at least two more seasons, currently in the early development stages.
Acting accolades
'Shogun' cast members bagged top acting honors
Apart from its series win, Shogun also swept the acting categories at the Golden Globes.
Hiroyuki Sanada took home the Best Actor award for his performance as feudal lord Tokugawa Ieyasu (Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the series), while Anna Sawai won Best Actress.
Tadanobu Asano bagged the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Kashigi Yabushige, completing a clean sweep for the show.
Historical narrative
'Shogun' blends history and fiction, drawing global attention
Shogun weaves history with fiction, focusing on English navigator William Adams (played by Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne) and his relationship with feudal lord Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The latter eventually becomes Japan's military ruler and forms the Tokugawa Shogunate—a government that ruled for over 200 years during Japan's Edo period.
This unique combination of history and fiction has fascinated audiences globally.
Creator's vision
'Shogun' creators expressed desire for series expansion
Before Shogun was announced as a multi-season series, co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo had expressed their desire to explore this world and history further on IndieWire's podcast.
Marks said, "I wish we could live in a world where we don't have to build a factory just to pump out 10 cars, then close it up, you know?"
"I think right around Episode 5 is where there was this brief glimmer of like, 'Gosh, we could just keep doing this.'"