10 Shows Like 'Shōgun' You Should Watch Next

The past is so dramatic, honestly.

So successful was the first season of Shōgun, based on the 1975 James Clavell novel, that two further seasons have been commissioned to continue the story, even though the adaptation has run out of material.

Set at the tail-end of Japan's Warring States period, the series sees ambitious English maritime pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) shipwrecked in Japan and in the power of powerful warlord Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada). Each of these two men has something to offer the other, and reluctantly serving as the translator between them is Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), who is loyal to Toranaga but has a complicated past.

With analogues from real history, there's a verisimilitude to everything in this (mostly) Japanese-language drama, alongside the Game of Thrones-esque intrigue and drama. Finding a good streamalike is a little tough: There are plenty of films set during the same rough timeframe, and as many jidaigeki period dramas that are a little harder to stream for audiences outside of Japan. Instead, here are suggestions for other dramas that explore the complicated histories of cultures in transition. Stream Shōgun on Hulu.

Pachinko (2022 – )

Starting in 1915, this multigenerational saga follows one woman (played in different time periods by Youn Yuh-jung and Kim Min-ha) and her family, taking us from the Japanese occupation of Korea through the decades of the Korean diaspora. With her opportunities limited, Sunja leaves her home and family in Busan to pursue a life in Japan, even as racism and anti-immigrant sentiment are rampant amid the war. In a parallel narrative that begins in 1989, we see what has and hasn't changed for Sunja and her family. It’s a journey as personal as it is epic, with better location cinematography than most movies—and an opening credits sequence that puts a smile on my face every single time. Stream Pachinko on Apple TV+.

Pachinko (2022 – )

at Apple TV+

Into the Badlands (2015 – 2019)

A rollicking martial arts drama set in a dystopian future, this one is definitely not a historical drama, but the Shögun vibes are there. About 500 years from now, war has eradicated anything resembling civilization and left the planet ravaged, even as some vestiges of technology remain. Firearms are largely taboo, given the devastation they've caused—allowing for an action apocalypse dominated by kick-ass martial arts combat. The Badlands, Rocky Mountains, and Mississippi River are transformed into competing feudal kingdoms, dominated by Marton Csokas's creepy, over-the-top Baron Quinn and, at least initially, his chief lieutenant Sunny (Daniel Wu). Despite the sci-fi trappings, the inspirations here blend wuxia and pre-modern Chinese history, giving the show the feel of history without any strict adherence to it whatsoever. Stream Into the Badlands on Prime Video.

Into the Badlands

at Prime Video

Deadwood (2004 – 2006, 2019)

There are no major set piece battles here, and the setting is centuries ahead of, and half a world away from, that of Shōgun. Still, the stakes are similar, even if the scale is a bit smaller—both shows deal in the bloody, messy, complicated process of building a community and the inescapable outside pressures that can derail the attempt. Deadwood drops us into the thick of the Wild West era, when many an American fortune would be made. One-time sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) comes into the tiny but fast-growing Black Hills town in hope of a new life, but finds himself quickly dealing with the growing pains of a nascent American community and the machinations of its real leader, local saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane). Grimy gambling parlors are where the power moves happen in Deadwood, and creator David Chase is interested in the small triumphs and huge compromises that gave birth to modern America. Stream Deadwood on HBO Max.

Deadwood (2004 – 2006, 2019)

at HBO Max

Samurai Champloo (2004 – 2005)

Set in early Edo Japan (the era birthed by the real-life events that inspired Shōgun), Samurai Champloo references real events, though it’s not a history lesson and is filled with wildly anachronistic elements (including a hip-hop score). It opens with the execution ceremony for two samurai, Mugen and Jin, then quickly flashes back to the events of the day previous: a waitress named Fuu is being harassed by the son of the village prefect. Mugen, the more irreverent and mercenary of the two, helps her for the promise of free dumplings; the more stoic and honor-obsessed Jin helps because he can’t abide the injustice. The two samurai wind up traveling the country with Fuu in search of the mysterious Sunflower Samurai, bound together by fate and circumstance. This was director Shinichirō Watanabe’s follow-up to Cowboy Bebop, and it carries on its predecessor’s style of standalone stories shot through with subtle overarching plot threads. Stream Samurai Champloo on Crunchyroll or buy it from Prime Video.

Samurai Champloo

at Prime Video

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan (2021)

Despite its composite characters and tweaking of events, Shōgun does a better job at capturing the feel of its era than many a less-fictionalized narrative. Still, it may well leave you with a hunger for more of the real history of late Sengoku period Japan, which is where this documentary series comes in. Age of Samurai uses dramatized recreations (rather than talking heads) to bring the bloody events to life, covering unification of Japan and the decades leading up to the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu (Shōgun's Yoshii Toranaga), and the climactic battle that cemented his dynasty's power for centuries after. Stream Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan on Netflix.

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan

at Netflix

Chief of War (2025 – )

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