Hulu/FX’s Historical Epic Shogun Breaks Ample Streaming Records

Summary

• Shogun has earned a record-breaking 9 million views across all streaming platforms in its first six days of streaming.
• The epic show is based on James Cavell’s book of the same name and improves on the 1980’s four-part miniseries adaptation.

FX’s Shogun is already toppling records after amassing more than 9 million views across its streaming platforms in the first week.

The show features the feudal era of Japan and narrates the story of Lord Yoshii Toranaga and an English pirate called John Blackthorne as they face an explosive political struggle. 

The historical drama has even earned Game of Thrones comparisons because of its impeccable storytelling and epic scope. 

According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Shogun’s premiere episodes broke a barrage of records for FX and Disney. The report also states that the show garnered 9 million views in its first six days of streaming across Disney+, Hulu, and Star+, making it the best worldwide debut for any series excluding Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar creatives. 

Shogun also earned the title for the best streaming debut for any show on Hulu, beating The Bear season 2.

Shogun has garnered critical acclaim worldwide for its stellar cast performance, great storytelling, and intricate Japanese setting. Moreover, the show has received praise from the Japanese audience for accurately representing feudal Japan. 

Rotten Tomatoes has given Shogun an almost-perfect 99% critical score, and it has also amassed a 94% score from the audience. 

This is not the first time the James Cavell novel has been adapted into a series. A four-part miniseries was also released in 1980, and it gathered a lot of critical acclaim. The show was praised for pushing the boundaries of network TV and showing gory and graphic depictions of violent sequences. 

The new depiction of Shogun will only take inspiration from its predecessor and improve on it. Moreover, the show is unlike anything seen on television today, as shows of this genre have dried up recently. The accurate representation of the political fiascos and the sophistication and attention to detail seen in Shogun are unparalleled.

Although Cavell’s work is quite expansive and detailed, the Hulu/FX series is well on its way to doing justice to the legendary book.

About Shōgun

Shōgun is an upcoming American historical drama television limited series based on the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell. The novel was previously adapted into a 1980 television miniseries.

The series is set to premiere with its first two episodes on February 27, 2024, on Hulu and FX, with new episodes of the 10-episode series then releasing weekly.

Shōgun follows “the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai; John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance”.