10 TV Shows Like Shogun

"Shogun" is one of the most acclaimed series in television history. The 2024 historical drama, adapted by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks from James Clavell's novel of the same name, closed out its first season with 18 Emmy Awards, including an outstanding drama series award. It's the first non-English language series to ever take home that honor, and its success was so great that it grew beyond its initial miniseries order into a pop culture phenomenon.

Sadly, for fans, there is only so much "Shogun" to go around. Even as new episodes enter production, viewers have to wait to see what happens next, and while you can certainly re-watch the episodes we already have, you'll eventually go looking for another show to try and capture that "Shogun" feel. Fortunately, there's a lot of TV out there that can at least try to capture some of that same magic.

So, which shows should you watch if you're hoping to find something like "Shogun"? Here are 10 of our favorites.

"Shogun" begins as the story of a stranded sailor looking for a way to survive in a world that's often hostile to him and confused by his ways. If that angle of the series, and its various nautical adventures along the way, appeals to you most, you'll definitely want to give "Black Sails" a try.

Set in the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy in the 1700s, the Starz series serves as a kind of prequel to the Robert Louis Stevenson classic "Treasure Island," and follows the fictional Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) as he interacts with real pirate history and dangers in a world where all piracy is considered an enemy of humanity itself. Along the way, we learn Flint's origin story, why he became a pirate, and get a grand-scale look at the state of piracy during its most famous period. It's a show full of treasure hunts, battles with the Royal Navy, and of course, political intrigue as each famous pirate captain vies for control.

Want a show that takes place in roughly the same historical period as "Shogun"? "Blue Eye Samurai" might be for you. Created by Amber Noizumi and Michael Green, the animated series debuted on Netflix in 2023, and was enthusiastically praised for its animation style, action, and nuanced writing.

Set in Japan during the 17th century, the show follows a young, half-white/half-Japanese warrior (voiced by Maya Erskine) as she sets out for revenge. Hardened by her experiences as a mixed-race girl raised in Japan, she's out to find a group of white men, including her own father, who still linger in the country after its borders have closed. Like "Shogun," the political, societal, and emotional implications of all of this hang heavy over the action in "Blue Eye Samurai" as the show's hero, Mizu, goes about her dark work. If you want scheming, violence, and beautifully thought-out plotting, you're going to get it with this show, but you'll also get something "Shogun" doesn't have: Gorgeous animation that brings 17th century Japan to life in a new way.

Want to get a little more medieval with things? "The Last Kingdom" just might be the show you're looking for. Set in England in the centuries prior to the Norman conquest, this adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's bestselling novels follows a power struggle in the days of Saxon England. At a time when the island is beset by attacks from the Danes, King Alfred the Great (David Dawson) seeks to unite all Englishmen under one kingdom and fight to preserve his homeland, only to find power struggles within are often just as dangerous as those from abroad.

Though Alfred's campaign to unite England is the backdrop of this story, "The Last Kingdom" largely follows the adventures of Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), a Saxon warrior who grew up with Danes, as he tries to reclaim his homeland and defeat his enemies. To do this, he partners with Alfred and his army, and embarks on an epic quest full of battles, schemes, and alliances. There's nothing Japanese about it, but the palace intrigue and battle sequences are sure to win over "Shogun" fans.

"Shogun" is fascinating in no small part because of its cultural clashes, as an English sailor encounters Portuguese explorers and missionaries as well as Japanese nobles. If that's one of the things you love about the show, you should check out "Marco Polo," a two-season Netflix epic about the life of the famed explorer.

This version of the "Marco Polo" story specifically focuses on his younger years, as the future exploring legend (played by Lorenzo Richelmy) goes to China and ends up a guest in the court of the Mongol Empire, where the powerful Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong) rules. Left to find his way in a foreign court, with a ruthless ruler as his host, the young Marco must learn quickly how the Great Khan sees the world.

Obviously, this is a recipe for a great cultural clash, and Richelmy and Wong do a wonderful job playing up the differences and similarities in the way their characters see the world. Throw in epic battles and you've got a historical drama well worth your time.

Any time you're discussing great historical drama on television, you've almost certainly got to namecheck "Rome," the HBO series that emerged years before many of its fellow epics on this list and helped blaze a trail for the kind of TV that led to "Shogun."

Set in the waning days of the Roman Republic, the show follows an ensemble of characters as they try to make their way in a changing world, from a raucous soldier (Ray Stevenson) to a scheming noblewoman (Polly Walker) to Julius Caesar himself (Ciaran Hinds). The first season follows these characters and many others amid Caesar's rise from a beloved Roman general to the potential sole leader of the entire Republic, building to his legendary fate. The second season takes an even more expansive look at Rome, covering the wake of Caesar's decisions and how his heirs and rivals deal with the fallout. It's a massive show, especially for its time, and if you love the political maneuvering of "Shogun," you definitely need to spend some time in "Rome."

Let's be clear: "Succession" is about as far as we're going to get from the world of "Shogun" on this list. It's a show about business, about family, and about perversions of the modern American Dream. It's definitely not about samurai and honor and epic physical battles. That said, it's still a wonderful match for a very particular quality that "Shogun" has.

The story of a wealthy media tycoon (Brian Cox) and his children (Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, and Sarah Snook) as they struggle for power over their shared company, "Succession" is all about schemes, ventures, and shaky alliances that sometimes pay off and sometimes come crashing down. It's a show about people squabbling over the pettiest possible things while surrounded by unimaginable splendor, and a show that's very good at tricking its viewers into forgetting revelations that will come back to haunt everyone later.

In that way, it's a great companion to "Shogun," because while "Shogun" is about epic schemes paying off or not, it's also about the very human foibles that get in the way of those schemes. Everyone on the show has a master plan, but human frailty always gets in the way, and "Succession" does that better than just about any show you can find.

"The Terror" is a historical horror anthology series, which means that it won't always directly match up with what "Shogun" is offering, but it'll still be rewarding for fans of intense historical detail and brutal situations. The first season, adapted from Dan Simmons' novel "The Terror," is about the legendary lost Franklin expedition to the Arctic, and examines an imagined fate for its sailors.

It's a great season of TV, but "Shogun" fans will really want to pay attention to the second season, "The Terror: Infamy." Set during World War II, the show follows a group of Japanese Americans as their lives are uprooted and they are forced into an internment camp in the Western United States, only to find that a dark creature from Japanese folklore has followed them there. A deep, dark meditation on the cruelties of the past and the present, it's a great piece of Japanese cultural history alongside an unsettling horror story.

Though it's a few centuries removed from the likes of "Shogun," "Tokyo Vice" is the kind of show that fans of the FX historical drama can definitely latch onto, and not just because it keeps the Japanese setting.

Based on the book of the same name by Jake Adelstein, the series follows Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) as a young journalist who moves to Tokyo and becomes the first foreign reporter at a major newspaper there. It's the turn of the millennium, he's viewed as an outsider by everyone around him, but he's determined to embed himself in Japanese culture. With the help of a street-wise detective (Ken Watanabe), Adelstein becomes not just embedded, but embroiled in the deadly world of the yakuza, an entire power structure working in the shadows of the gleaming, modern city.

If you love deep dives into Japanese culture, you'll want to watch this show, but it also has the same sense of shifting allegiances, careful planning, and danger around every corner. It's not quite as simple as "present day Shogun," but it's close.

Like "The Last Kingdom," "Vikings" is a show set in medieval Europe, so you might think it's a leap to compare it to "Shogun." Look closer, though, and you'll find a nuanced, expansive series that gives you plenty to watch, plenty to get lost in, and moments that will have you hanging on characters' every word.

Based on real Norse tales of legendary warriors, the series follows Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) as he rises, with his band of friends, followers, and family members, from a farmer to a conqueror to a king. At the time of the show, the Vikings were often at war with the Saxons of England, and that's a key part of the series. But just as important is the focus on character, on Ragnar's motivations as he rises to power, and what it means for the people around him, both enemy and ally. Plus, the show just keeps expanding even beyond its early tales of Ragnar's rise, and eventually grows to follow his children. It even produced a spinoff series.

So, if you love the story within "Shogun" of a man rising to power against all odds in a hostile world, you'll want to watch "Vikings." It's one of the most-watched historical dramas ever made for good reason.

A sci-fi series with a power struggle at its core, "Westworld" is connected to "Shogun" through the presence of the great Hiroyuki Sanada, who played a key supporting role in the HBO series years before his Emmy-winning turn in "Shogun." Sanada plays a legendary samurai named Musashi in the "Shogunworld" counterpart to the Westworld park, and becomes a key player from the second season onward.

But Sanada's presence — and the existence of Shogunworld — isn't the only reason for "Shogun" fans to tune in. Though it comes at things from a sci-fi angle, and focuses on characters who are often not strictly human, "Westworld" is at its best when it's all about playing the long game, with characters making deep, detailed plans and carrying them out, often without the knowledge of even their allies. If you love the tight, often surprising plotting of "Shogun," you will love the depths to which this show will go to play with your perception of situations, and then upend everything to great effect.