On April 23, the 2024 limited series “Shōgun” — an adaptation of the 1975 James Clavell novel of the same name — aired its finale, “A Dream of a Dream.”
It was, without question, one of the best finales to one of the best dramas in recent television history.
Those superlatives have been well-earned over 10 incredibly poignant and well-acted episodes, no matter what idiotic complaints that some naysayers may have of the series.
Without delving much into spoilers, the finale included a “twist” that, unlike some M. Night Shyamalan twists, was well-earned and logical.
It was a satisfying conclusion that ultimately left fans wondering: What’s next?
The answer: Not much, probably.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo addressed a number of topics, including the future of the show.
“Here’s the inevitable season two question. Is it going to happen?” the outlet asked the married co-creators.
“I don’t know,” Marks said. “I keep saying it’s like we want to let everyone be on the same page when it comes to the book. And hopefully now the TV audience and the book audience are on the same page with what the story is and where it resolves.
Have you watched “Shōgun” yet?
“I think if we had a story, if we could find a story, we would be open to it. But I don’t think that anyone ever wants to be out over their skis without a roadmap and everything.
“And it’s also just about, do people want more of it?”
“Yes. The answer is yes,” THR responded.
“But it’s also about, not even topping the book, but, how do you even equal the roadmap that Clavell laid out?” Marks continued. “And I don’t know if it’s possible. I don’t know if Clavell could have done it either. That’s probably why he moved on to other books too, right? He knew what he had done.
“Yeah, it’s a tough one.”
Acknowledging that “Shōgun” is part of a grander anthology (Clavell’s “The Asian Saga”), Kondo and Marks said that the other books were good, but very different from “Shōgun.” The duo also remarked about how difficult it is to put together a good anthology series, despite the FX network’s track record with them.
The two did ultimately leave the door open ajar that the series could return in some way or form, perhaps under the aforementioned “The Asian Saga” banner.
And while that might be good news for fans, it does ultimately beg the question: Does everything need to be serialized, or turned into a franchise, or get a sequel?
In this writer’s opinion, the answer is a big, fat, “No.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good sequel — “Aliens” and “The Empire Strikes Back” immediately come to mind — but there’s an odd appetite for everything to be driven into the ground (See: Disney and Star Wars) these days.
It reeks of appeasing shareholders, but that’s just a hunch.
For fans who simply care about quality entertainment and not stock prices, however, this demand for content is not a good thing.
And that’s not just conjecture, we’ve seen this happen to major franchises in the entertainment space before.
The “Guitar Hero” franchise was a cultural juggernaut and brought video games to the mainstream in a way not seen before in the aughts. But due to its publisher, Activision, grossly (greedily?) overestimating consumer demand, the franchise was pretty much dead and buried just a decade later.
“Shōgun,” for now, doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to the trajectory of something like “Guitar Hero,” and will be all the better for staying that way.
Every episode of “Shōgun” is currently streaming on Hulu.
