FX’s drama “Shōgun” headed into the Primetime Emmys, having already broken the record for most wins in one season at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend. Now, it’s extended its record even further with 18 total wins.
On stage, the cast and crew gathered while Executive Producer Justin Marks thanked their partners at Disney Television, Dana Walden, Eric Schrier, Hulu and FX, “You guys green lit a very expensive, subtitled, Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition. I have no idea why you did that, but thank you for your faith in this incredible team.”
With 14 Creative Arts Emmys, “Shōgun” already broke the record that was previously held by HBO’s 2008 miniseries “John Adams,” which won 13 awards.
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“Shōgun” ruled the main acting categories with wins in best drama, lead actor (Hiroyuki Sanada) and lead actress (Anna Sawai).
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Based on James Clavell’s novel of the same name, “Shōgun” is a retelling of the Emmy-winning 1980s NBC miniseries. Set in 1600 feudal Japan, the show features Sawai as Lady Mariko, who is placed in charge of translating for Lord Toranaga (Sanada), and John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English ship captain who enters Japanese society as it prepares for war.
Sanada landed a double win for lead actor and best drama as he produced the show. Speaking with Variety, earlier this year, Sanada explained how being a producer allowed him to be much more than an actor and work to ensure the minute details were all accurate. “This story is fictional entertainment, based on a true story and inspired by history. To make the story and character believable, we needed to make authentic details.”
Sawai also made history by becoming the first Japanese star to win the Primetime Emmy Award for lead actress.
During Variety’s Actors on Actors, Sawai discussed the impact of Lady Mariko and playing a woman who finds her strength and voice. Sawai said she had received a positive response from audiences, particularly Japanese women. She said, “Multiple young girls came up to me being like, ‘This is the first time I’m seeing a real Japanese character that I can really relate to.’ They were getting emotional as well, because it was something that they had internalized — not being able to speak, having to behave — and they thought that’s the way that they should be. In Japan, we see characters like that; but in Western media, it was my first time reading a script that felt like she was not sidelined. We were seeing that vulnerability but also the strength within her. We see her find her voice. I feel like if I had seen characters like Mariko on-screen growing up, that would’ve formed me in a different way. I wouldn’t have internalized all those expectations.”
See all the Emmy winners here.
