Old 'Shōgun' director gets honest about new 'Shōgun'

In 1980, Jerry London helmed Shōgun for NBC. Four decades later, FX took a new take on the Japanese drama, but the original director was not impressed.

During an interview with THR, he said, “It’s completely different from the one I did. Mine was based on the love story of Shogun between Blackthorne and Mariko, and this new one is based on Japanese history, and it’s more about Toranaga, who was the Shogun."

He continued, "It’s very technical and very difficult for an American audience to get their grips into it. I’ve talked to many people that have watched it, and they said, ‘I had to turn it off because I don’t understand it.’ So the filmmakers of the new one really didn’t care about the American audience."

“They made it basically for Japan, and I was happy about it because I didn’t want my show to be copied. I think I did such a great job, and it won so many accolades, that I didn’t want them to copy it, which they didn’t do," the director added. 

"But the new one is funny because everybody I talked to said, ‘I don’t understand it. What’s it all about?’ I watched the whole thing. It’s very difficult to stick with. It won all the [Emmy] awards because there were no big shows against it. There was not too much competition," he concluded.

Regardless of Jerry's views, FX's Shōgun became a top hit among fans, critics and award juries.