‘Shogun’ Makes History with Record 18 Emmy Wins

FX’s Shogun prolonged its reign over the 2024 Emmys on Sunday night time. Going into the night, the hit samurai sequence already held the report for probably the most wins by any present in a single yr, having bagged 14 trophies on the Inventive Arts Emmys per week in the past. However the present additional cemented its rule contained in the Peacock Theater on the Prime Time Emmys, successful a further 4 awards, together with the highest classes of greatest drama sequence, greatest actress in a drama sequence for Anna Sawai, greatest actor in a drama sequence for Hiroyuki Sanada, and greatest drama directing for Frederick E.O. Toye.

Shogun‘s triumph is momentous on a number of fronts. The historic awards haul represents an enormous win for FX and mother or father firm Disney for an expensive sequence that took almost 10 years to deliver to fruition and as soon as regarded like a really unsure wager. It’s additionally a serious second for Asian illustration and non-English-language tv. Shogun is the very first majority non-English-language sequence to win within the excellent drama sequence class (Netflix’s Korean sensation Squid Recreation was nominated in 2022 however misplaced to HBO’s Succession), and Sanada and Sawai are the primary Japanese actors ever to win Emmys. 

Talking backstage on the Emmys, Sanada stated that when he arrived on stage to simply accept his Emmy he “felt the load of the second and what all of it means traditionally.” One in all Japan’s few prime actors to cross over to Hollywood in a serious manner, Sanada started performing in Tokyo almost 60 years in the past as a toddler actor, apprenticing below native display legend Sonny Chiba. He stated his greatest actor win additionally made him take into consideration “all my friends and lecturers who’ve taught me since I used to be a toddler.”

“So far as the following era,” Sanada added, “I hope they see plenty of that means in our nominations and wins and simply perceive that we created a interval Japanese sequence that basically linked with the world.”

Japanese cinema was acknowledged in Hollywood way back to 1951 when Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon gained one of the best international language movie Oscar on the twenty fourth Academy Awards. Miyoshi Umeki later gained a greatest supporting actress Oscar in 1957 for Sayonara reverse Marlon Brando. However recognition for Japanese expertise on the small display has been a lot later coming. Beforehand, solely Japanese actor Masi Oka, nominated for excellent supporting actor for Heroes in 2007, had acquired a drama sequence nod from the Tv Academy.  

Backstage on the Emmys, Sawai stated that when she broke down into tears whereas accepting her greatest actress in a drama sequence award, it was in all probability her “twelfth time crying at this time.”

“I’ve simply been a multitude,” she added. “I feel it’s simply blended feelings and nervousness, wanting everybody to win… I’ll get up tomorrow and I’ll suppose this was all a dream.”

Shogun‘s march via Emmys historical past Sunday night time wasn’t with out some hard-fought losses, nevertheless. Billy Crudup took greatest supporting actor in a drama for The Morning Present over cult Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, whose efficiency because the wily samurai Kashigi Yabushige was a Shogun fan favourite. The FX sequence’ writers room — which condensed James Clavell’s 1975 best-selling novel of 1,312 pages into 10 hour-long episodes of TV — additionally misplaced out within the drama writing class to Apple TV+’s Gradual Horses. 

Shogun could also be FX’s most-watched sequence ever (based mostly on world hours streamed), nevertheless it’s really the second TV adaptation of Clavell’s sprawling ebook. A deeply influential epic about obligation, honor and the battle for energy in Feudal Japan, the novel was beforehand tailored by Paramount Tv in 1980. Shot on location in Japan with the most important price range ever spent on a TV sequence on the time, the primary Shogun turned a popular culture sensation when it aired on NBC. The sequence earned 12 Emmy nominations on the 1981 Emmys, successful for excellent restricted sequence, costume design and greatest title sequence. 

Paramount’s adaptation ended the place the story of Clavell’s beloved ebook concludes — simply as the primary season of FX’s Shogun does. Co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo delighted followers in Could with the revelation that Disney greenlit two further seasons of the present. Sanada, who produces Shogun along with starring as Lord Toranaga, has begun teasing concepts about what could be in retailer for the story’s subsequent chapters. After Sunday night time’s Emmys celebrations wind down, the Shogun inventive workforce absolutely has its work minimize out for it as they attempt to maintain Lord Toranaga’s Emmys reign by including two, wholly unique seasons to the saga.