“Shogun,” the hit FX series that expansively reimagined a hugely popular previous version of the show, took home the Emmy on Sunday for best drama.
The win capped a successful evening for the remake, which picked up several other Emmys as the awards ceremony progressed. “Shogun” came into the night leading all programs with 25 Emmy nominations; last weekend, it won 14 Creative Arts Emmys, setting a record for the most Emmy wins by a show in a single year before Sunday’s ceremony even began.
On Sunday, it won several more, including Emmys for Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, the lead actor and actress in the series. Frederick E.O. Toye also won for outstanding directing.
“You guys greenlit a very expensive, subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition,” the showrunner Justin Marks said while accepting the best drama award. “I have no idea why you did that, but thank you for your faith in this incredible team.”
“Shogun” is a remake of the 1980 NBC mini-series of the same name. And that mini-series was itself an adaptation of the 1975 novel by James Clavell.
Set in 17th-century Japan, the story involves an English sailor, John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis), who lands in Japan and becomes embroiled in a deadly political conflict involving the shrewd Lord Toranaga (Sanada) and his translator, Lady Mariko (Sawai). Unlike the 1980 mini-series, which was centered on Blackthorne, the new “Shogun” is told primarily through the viewpoints of its main Japanese characters.
After its debut in February, many viewers and critics praised the new version’s epic scope and attention to authenticity. It was initially billed as a limited series, but the designation changed when FX announced in May that it was developing additional seasons.
Other nominees for best drama included: “3 Body Problem,” “The Crown,” “Fallout,” “The Gilded Age,” “The Morning Show,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Slow Horses.”
Source: Television - nytimes.com
