You Should Probably Catch Up on Shōgun Now

Photo: Christopher Polk//Variety via Getty Images

Whatever early lead The Bear held during Sunday night’s Emmy Awards was just obliterated by FX’s Shōgun, a beautifully crafted Japanese period drama that dominated the ceremony’s closing honors. The show — an adaptation that portrays the interlocking politics of feudal Japan — took home Best Drama Series, filling the shoes of the previously dominant Succession and beating out The Gilded Age, Mr. & Mrs Smith, The Crown, and other mainstays. And before that, the series’ beloved breakout star Anna Sawai made history, becoming the first Asian performer (and first Japanese actress) to win Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Toda Mariko, which she called “the role of a lifetime.” And if that still isn’t enough to convince you to hop aboard the bandwagon, did I mention that the New Zealand-born 32-year-old told us she loves Florence Pugh and is an avid Kazuo Ishiguro reader? She’s one of us (except she’s now an Emmy winning artist, so nevermind).

Heading into the evening, Shōgun had already made history before a single trophy was handed out. During the Television Academy’s earlier Creative Arts ceremony, the series took home 14 Emmys — the most wins for a show in a single season since HBO’s 2008 miniseries John Adams. (The FX production also led all programs on Sunday night with 25 nominations.) During the telecast, Shōgun secured another four wins, smashing that record even further and bringing the count to 18 Emmys for its first season. On top of Sawai’s historic win and the series’ drama category Emmy, Shōgun’s producer Hiroyuki Sanada was named Best Actor in a Drama, and Frederick E.O. Toye won a directing nod.

While onstage, series co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner Justin Marks thanked Disney and FX for greenlighting “a very expensive subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition.” The series, of course, is a remake of a 1980 NBC mini-series, which itself was based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell.

“We share this award with our extraordinary cast and crew from Japan and North America,” he added. “Shōgun is a show about translation, not what is lost, but what is found when you do safety meetings in two languages. And, you learn not to walk on tatami mats with your utility booths.”