Creators weigh in on why Shōgun became so hit

Can a single show is able to divert all attention to itself? Shōgun just proved it can as the internet is flooded with positive responses to the FX show leading the creators to share what made the series stand out in a competitive field.

In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, the showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo were asked about how they were able to strike a chord with the viewers in the crowded pack.

“For me, it’s the book. We talk about great stories being timeless, and I think Shōgun as a book is a perfect example of that,” the Top Gun screenwriter said.

Explaining the rich background of the source material, Justin said, “It bears the cultural cobwebs on anything that’s 50 years old, and you take that for what it is. And yet there is a core truth to the characters and the story and the setting that we as storytellers forget too often these days: you just need a great story that you really can’t put down, which is the effect of reading the book.”

On the other hand, Rachel shared her take saying, “It took us five years to bring this to fruition and double that amount of time for FX. But I feel like maybe the reason why it might be scratching at some itch today is because it’s as if we took something from each of those years and drew out something from pre-pandemic, pandemic, and whatever the next experience was.”

She continued, “Five years is a long time. And it was a privilege to have had that time, and we were able to take our time. And I think that each of us grew so much within the five years, and some of us aged tremendously within those five years.”

At the end of the limited series, Shōgun is said to become one of the fan-favourite miniseries of 2024.