Barely ten years after the Spanish Armada, an Englishman washes up on the shores of feudal Japan. This is the inauspicious start to Shōgun, the hotly anticipated period drama from FX.

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Airing weekly on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK, the action follows English navigator John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis) as he is thrust into a world of warring samurai, where life is cheap and dishonour is worse than death.

There he meets Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a feared warrior with an ancient lineage – and a thinly veiled analogue of real-life shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu – who is locked in a power struggle for control of feudal Japan and the right to claim the ultimate badge authority – the title of shōgun.

Shōgun trailers: what to expect

Two trailers for Shōgun have been released, giving a glimpse into a world ruled by the samurai.

Shōgun release date & where to watch

Episodes 1 and 2 of Shōgun were released on Disney+ on 27 February 2024 in the UK, introducing us to protagonists John Blackthorne and Yoshii Toranaga, and the complex politics of the feudal Japan.

The series comprises 10 episodes, which will air weekly after the double-episode premiere, culminating on 23 April.

How many episodes of Shōgun are there?

There are ten episodes in this season of Shōgun. The final episode will be released on Tuesday 23 April.

Shōgun next episode: when is episode 8?

New episodes of Shōgun arrive weekly on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in the UK.

That means episode 6 of Shōgun will be available to stream on Tuesday 26 March.

Shōgun release schedule

The first two episodes of Shōgun were released as a double-episode premiere on 27 February, but all remaining episodes will be released on a weekly schedule.

Shōgun will run from 27 February to 23 April 2024, with the full list of the release dates for each episode as below:

Episode 1: Anjin – Tuesday 27 February

Episode 2: Servant of Two Masters – Tuesday 27 February

Episode 3: Tomorrow is tomorrow – Tuesday 5 March

Episode 4: The Eightfold Fence – Tuesday 12 March

Episode 5: Broken to the Fist – Tuesday 19 March

Episode 6: Ladies of the Willow World – Tuesday 26 March

Episode 7 : A Stick of Time– Tuesday 2 April

Episode 8: The Abyss of Life – Tuesday 9 April

Episode 9: Crimson Sky – Tuesday 16 April

Episode 10: A Dream of a Dream – Tuesday 23 April

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Shōgun is available to stream on Disney+ from 27 February, with new episodes airing weekly until 23 April. You can sign up to Disney+ for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

Authors

Kev LochunDeputy Digital Editor, HistoryExtra

Kev Lochun is Deputy Digital Editor of HistoryExtra.com and previously Deputy Editor of BBC History Revealed. As well as commissioning content from expert historians, he can also be found interviewing them on the award-winning HistoryExtra podcast.

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