Shōgun is proving to be a huge hit on streaming, breaking streaming records with its debut.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, across its first six days, Shōgun episode 1 brought in 9 million views across Hulu, Disney Plus, and Star Plus (views are calculated by viewing time divided by running time). Disney says that this is its best ever debut for a Disney General Entertainment scripted series – in plain terms, that means a show that's not a Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, National Geographic, or Disney Branded TV title.
In the US, the first episode of Shōgun was also the biggest Hulu streaming premiere for an FX show (with help from Disney Plus), which means it beat out the first episode of The Bear season 2. Internationally, Shōgun beat The Kardashians season 1 to be the best premiere of a Disney General Entertainment series.
As for its TV debut on FX, the first episode drew 764,000 viewers, with the second securing 442,000 viewers. That beats Fargo's season premiere in November, which was 566,000 and 311,000 viewers across its first two episodes, and American Horror Story's in September, which scored 454,000 viewers.
Shōgun, adapted from James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name, stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, and Anna Sawai. It's proved a hit with critics, too, earning a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.
"Truly it is a character piece and it is about this intrigue," director Jonathan van Tulleken, has said of the show. "This is a dangerous world where violence can come out of nowhere but the real danger is in the machinations. A conversation can be as dangerous as anything else. A better comparison [than Game of Thrones] would be Succession or House of Cards."
Shōgun is streaming weekly. You can fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the best new TV shows coming soon.
