When “Shōgun” emerged as the top-nominated show in Wednesday’s primetime Emmy nominations, it wasn’t just a win for the show’s stars and creators.
FX’s epic historical drama set in feudal Japan was already a major achievement as a representative Asian show, but now the series can celebrate becoming only the second non-English language show ever to be nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category.
Following on from 2021’s Netflix thriller The Squid Game, The Shogun proves that subtitles don’t dampen audience interest when brilliant storytelling, acting, and production are at the forefront.
“The General” was nominated for Best Drama and also received numerous nominations in the acting categories.
Lead actor Sanada Hiroyuki is nominated for Best Actor in a Drama for his role as the cunning Yoshii Toranaga, while Sawai Anna will compete for Best Actress in a Drama for her role as the enigmatic Toda Mariko.
Pictured here is Hiroyuki Sanada at the February premiere of “Shogun.” He’s up for an Emmy this fall for best drama actor. The show was nominated in 25 categories on Wednesday, including one for his nomination.
There are many great performances to behold in “The Shogun,” which also won a double Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Tadanobu Asano, who plays the surly samurai Kashiwagi Yabumo, will be competing with co-star Takehiro Taira, who is nominated for his role as the surly warlord Ishido Kazunari.
Lead actor Nestor Carbonell also won an award for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Spanish sailor Vasco Rodriguez.
“The General” continued to rack up awards in technical categories including Art Direction, Original Soundtrack, Stunt Performance, Sound Editing, Casting, and Directing, as well as two awards for Cinematography.
The nomination for “Shōgun,” which debuted in February after nearly a decade of arduous development and production, sends a strong message to broadcasters that they want audiences to entertain beyond the English-speaking world.
The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on September 15th.
For a closer look at all the omissions and surprises from the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards announcements, check out HuffPost’s live blog.