The onset of summer provides the perfect excuse to stay inside with the air conditioning and catch up on your streaming queue. For those planning to binge some Japan-related shows alongside new seasons of “House of the Dragon” and “The Bear,” 2024 has been particularly bountiful … with awards even possible in the near future when Emmy nominations are announced July 17.
Arguably the biggest “prestige” hit of the year’s first half was “Shogun.” Airing on FX in the United States and currently available via Disney+ in Japan, the latest adaptation of author James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name is set in 17th-century Japan. This is the second time the story has been adapted for TV, a 1980 miniseries based on the book was similarly a phenomenon in its own time. The 21st-century take, however, gives its Japanese characters more agency.
“In the ’80s, one was looking at feudal Japan only through the blue eyes. But this time in the script, we put more Japanese lenses… and then showed more detail about our culture deeply,” Japanese producer and lead actor Hiroyuki Sanada told NPR earlier this year. “In Japan, this period is so popular, the most famous period, and then (there are) great characters there. So I wanted to introduce this to the world, hopefully correctly.”