‘Shōgun’ Almost Sweeps the 2024 Emmys — and Should Have Won More

Even before the 2024 Emmys kicked off, hosts Dan and Eugene Levy pointed out that FX‘s Shōgun had already mad Emmys history by grabbing a record-breaking 14 awards at last week’s Creative Arts Emmys. So it should have come as no surprise that the incredible drama just about swept the major drama categories at this year’s Emmys. Besides winning Best Drama, Shōgun also took home Emmys for star and EP Hiroyuki Sanada, leading lady Anna Sawai, and Frederick E.O. Toye’s direction. It was an incredible night for the subtitled drama set in pre-Edo period Japan! Shōgun not only deserved its historic run, but could have — dare I say, it should have — won more.

Shōgun was by far and away the best series of the year and tonight’s Emmys proves it.

As Shōgun‘s co-creator and showrunner Justin Marks noted during his acceptance speech, the idea that FX even greenlit the show in the first place is something of a miracle. Sure, Shōgun is based on a beloved best-seller from the 1970s and the original 1980 adaptation was a monster, critically-acclaimed hit. However, the version of Shōgun that Marks and his co-creator Rachel Kondo wanted to make was something even more daring than the lavish 1980 miniseries. Their Shōgun wouldn’t paint John Blackthorne as a sympathetic, swashbuckling hero, but as the outsider in a far more advanced world. Cosmo Jarvis’s English navigator was our Trojan horse into the world of medieval Japan, but Shōgun‘s stars were the Japanese characters.

During Hiroyuki Sanada’s acceptance speech for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, he described FX’s Shōgun as an “east meets west dream.” The series was produced by an American network, shot in Canada, and yet boasted one of the most extraordinary collections of Japanese actors, writers, artisans, and crew. The result? An intoxicating drama that keeps viewers on their toes, full of incredibly complex (subtitled!) performances and some of the most profound set pieces in television history.

Going into tonight’s Emmys, stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai were considered the frontrunners for their respective categories. It didn’t hurt that Shōgun switched from limited series to drama in a year where the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes set many returning dramas back on schedule and out of Emmys contention. However, even with that edge, Shōgun was nigh on indomitable. But not totally.

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Can’t get enough of the 2024 Emmy Awards? Follow along with Decider’s coverage, including:

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Perennial Emmys favorite Billy Crudup won Best Supporting Actor once again for his masterful work as Cory Ellison on The Morning Show and Elizabeth Debicki took home the Best Supporting Emmy for her uncanny copy of Princess Diana in The Crown. I would argue that both received their flowers for being the best part of weak drama seasons. Moreover, I would stump for Tadanobu Asano to have edged out Crudup for his electric work as the scheming Yabushige and I still despair that Moeka Hoshi was completely snubbed in Best Supporting Actress for her layered, hilarious, and heartbreaking work as Fuji.

However, at the end of the day — and indeed the Emmys themselves — Shōgun ruled supreme.

Let’s hope the team that pulled off this extraordinary sweep has a Toranaga-esque plan to tackle their second season.