10 TV Series Like “Shogun” You Should Watch Next
The first season of Shogun, based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel, was so successful that two more seasons were ordered to continue the story, despite the adaptation running out of material. Set during the late Warring States period in Japan, the series follows ambitious English sea pilot John Blackthorn (Cosmo Jarvis) who is shipwrecked in Japan and falls under the control of a powerful warlord, Lord Yoshi Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada). Each has something to offer the other, and the reluctant interpreter between them is Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), loyal to Toranaga but with a troubled past. The historical parallels give this largely Japanese drama a believable feel, complete with Game of Thrones -like intrigue and drama. Finding a good alternative to watch online can be challenging: there are numerous films set in roughly the same time period, and just as many historical dramas in the jidaigeki genre, which are more difficult for viewers outside of Japan to watch online. Instead, here are a few suggestions for other dramas that explore the complex history of cultures in transition. Watch “Shogun” on Hulu .
Pachinko (2022 – )
Beginning in 1915, this multigenerational saga tells the story of one woman (played at various points by Yoon Yu-jung and Kim Min-ha) and her family, spanning the Japanese occupation of Korea and decades of Korean diaspora. Disabled, Soon-ji leaves her home and family in Busan to start a new life in Japan, despite wartime racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. A parallel narrative, beginning in 1989, explores what has changed and what has remained the same for Soon-ji and her family. It’s a journey both personal and epic, with better location photography than most films and opening credits that make me smile every time. Watch Pachinko on Apple TV+ .
In the Desert (2015–2019)
This gripping martial arts drama, set in a dystopian future, is definitely not a historical drama, but the atmosphere of the Shogunate world is present. Roughly 500 years later, war has wiped out all resemblance to civilization and left the planet devastated, though some remnants of technology remain. Firearms are largely banned due to the destruction they wrought, allowing for an apocalypse dominated by hardcore martial arts. The wasteland, Rocky Mountains, and Mississippi River are transformed into competing feudal kingdoms, ruled by the creepy, overly eccentric Baron Quinn (Márton Csokas) and, at least initially, his chief lieutenant, Sunny (Daniel Wu). Despite the sci-fi elements, the series blends elements of wuxia and prehistoric Chinese history, giving the series a sense of history without being strictly historical. Watch Into the Badlands on Prime Video.
Deadwood (2004–2006, 2019)
There are no large-scale battles, and the action takes place centuries earlier and half a world away than in Shogun . Yet the stakes are similar, even if the scale is slightly smaller—both series explore the bloody, twisted, and complex process of building a community and the inevitable external pressures that can derail it. Deadwood plunges us into the heart of the Wild West era, when many American fortunes were made. Former sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) arrives in a tiny but rapidly growing town in the Black Hills hoping for a new life, but quickly encounters the difficulties of a nascent American community and the machinations of its true leader, local saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane). Power games unfold in Deadwood’s seedy gambling dens, and series creator David Chase is interested in both the small triumphs and the enormous compromises that led to the birth of modern America. Watch Deadwood on HBO Max .
Samurai Champloo (2004–2005)
Set in early Edo-period Japan (the era that inspired Shogun ), Samurai Champloo alludes to real events, though it’s not a history lesson and is full of wildly anachronistic elements (including a hip-hop soundtrack). It opens with the execution ceremony of two samurai, Mugen and Jin, and then quickly flashes back to the events of the previous day: a waitress named Fuu is being harassed by the village chief’s son. Mugen, the more brazen and materialistic of the two, helps her in exchange for free dumplings; the more stoic and honor-obsessed Jin helps because he can’t stand the injustice. The two samurai eventually travel the country with Fuu in search of the mysterious Sunflower Samurai, bound together by fate and circumstance. This is director Shinichiro Watanabe’s follow-up to Cowboy Bebop , and it continues the style of its predecessor, presenting self-contained stories interwoven with subtle overarching plot lines. Watch Samurai Champloo on Crunchyroll or buy it on Prime Video .
Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan (2021)
Despite its composite characters and distorted events, “Shogun” captures the atmosphere of its era better than many less fictionalized narratives. Still, after watching, you might be left wanting to learn more about the real history of Japan during the late Sengoku period, and that’s where this documentary series comes in. “Age of the Samurai” uses dramatized reenactments (rather than talking heads) to bring the bloody events to life, covering the unification of Japan and the decades leading up to the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu ( Shogun ‘s Yoshii Toranaga), as well as the climactic battle that cemented his dynasty’s power for centuries afterward.Watch “Age of the Samurai: The Battle for Japan” on Netflix .
War Chief (2025 – )
Jason Momoa co-wrote and stars in this historical drama set in the late 18th century, when Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai were at war with each other while maintaining relations with colonial powers. Momoa plays the real-life Kauai chief, Kaiana, who joins the struggle for unification under the future Kamehameha the Great and then leads a rebellion. It’s a complex historical period, and the series doesn’t shy away from its details, yet it’s also replete with bloody battles and impressively choreographed action sequences. Benjamin Hoetjes plays John Young, a British subject who becomes Kamehameha’s military adviser, and Lucian Buchanan plays Kaahumanu, a princess and influential politician. Watch War Chief on Apple TV+ .
Wolf Hall (2015, 2024)
Adapted from Hilary Mantel’s trilogy of novels into two miniseries, Wolf Hall tells the story of Thomas Cromwell, played by Mark Rylance. Cromwell rose from poverty to become the second most powerful man in Henry VIII’s England—no mean feat even under the best of circumstances, but virtually impossible given the rigid class structure of the time. On the surface, it’s a quieter drama than many of the others featured here, but the political intrigue is no less intense and the stakes no less vast. It’s Cromwell’s show, but in the background is Claire Foy’s Anne Boleyn, first an ally and then a sworn enemy (surely one of the best portrayals of the long-suffering queen on television and film). Each character quickly realizes they are walking a tightrope, as power flows from a highly fickle king whose immense hubris shaped the course of centuries of history. Wolf Hall is available to stream on PBS or buy on Prime Video .
Kingdom (2019–2021)
The series “Kingdom” opens a window into the middle of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, an era that lasted over 500 years and nearly into the 20th century, much of which overlapped with Japan’s Edo period, the origins of which are fictionally reimagined in “Shogun.” However, history hasn’t recorded the actual zombie epidemic of the early 17th century, so some liberties have been taken. At the beginning of the series, rumors circulate of the king’s death, and his son, Crown Prince Lee Jang, attempts to uncover the truth. It turns out the king has indeed died—from smallpox—but the Queen Consort and her father, a powerful courtier, have a plan: they’ve given the king a little-known plant that will revive him long enough to produce an heir, but with an unfortunate side effect (you can already guess where this is going). Since Lee Jang is only the son of a concubine, doing so will forfeit his claim to the throne. The series skillfully blends horror and political intrigue, making it more than the sum of its parts. It ran for two seasons and also spawned a spin-off film,Ashin Severa .Watch Kingdom on Netflix .
The Last Kingdom (2018–2022)
Warring kingdoms. Clashing cultures. Internal and external pressures: these themes resonate throughout history, and we see much of them in both The Last Kingdom and Shogun . The series begins in 866 and follows Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), a Saxon kidnapped by Vikings as a child and subsequently raised by a Danish warlord. When his adoptive father is killed by another Dane, he enters the service of the Saxon King Alfred, hoping an alliance will allow him to avenge his loss. Instead, he is forced to choose between the Saxons of his birth and the Danes with whom he identifies. The drama unfolds against the backdrop of an England torn apart by warring kingdoms and threatened by foreign conquest.Watch The Last Kingdom on Netflix.
Jin (2009–2011)
It’s a simple time-travel romance about a modern-day neurosurgeon who finds himself in Japan during the late Edo period. It’s not as strange as it seems—Japanese pop culture is full of stories about modern people visiting pre-war Japan, perhaps to experience a seemingly simpler time. Takao Osawa plays Jin Minakata, who mourns his fiancée in a vegetative state for two years. A head injury sends him back in time, and he uses his medical knowledge to secretly help people while historical events unfold around him. Think Outlander set in the East.Watch Jin on Netflix .