“Gripping” samurai drama gets flawless Rotten Tomatoes score

Once in a while, a TV show is deemed so incredible, it will get the highest accolade possible on Rotten Tomatoes – much like this “gripping” samurai drama.

When it comes to having new original series to look forward to this year, we’re pretty spoiled for choice. The live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender is just around the corner, alongside the final-ever season of Young Sheldon.

On top of this, unsung heroes such as Netflix‘s 3 Body Problem, Fallout, and The Regime are set to make waves on screen later in the year.

However, one new series has caught viewers by surprise, hailing it as “gripping” enough to get a flawless Rotten Tomatoes score.

“Gripping” samurai drama gets flawless Rotten Tomatoes score

FX’s latest release Shōgun has debuted with a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 100% weeks before it is due to air on the channel.

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The show’s official synopsis reads: “Set in Japan in the year 1600, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.”

Starring the likes of Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Cosmo Jarvis, Shōgun is set to release on FX globally on February 27, 2024.

However, even though its release date is still a few weeks away, its “gripping” reviews have already got people talking.

Jake Cunningham at Empire Magazine wrote, “Shōgun makes for gripping television. Look past the knotty bureaucracy and you’ll find striking performances and stunning visuals.”

Nick Clark of the London Evening Standard agreed, “Shōgun is prestige drama writ large. Lush locations (it’s impossible to tell that this 16th century Japan was all recreated in Vancouver), superb performances, and an engaging story that may take its time but inexorably draws the viewer in.”

Judy Berman at TIME Magazine also added, “At a time when so many of TV’s biggest swings, from Amazon’s The Rings of Power and Citadel to Netflix’s Stranger Things and The Crown, have yielded at least partial misses, FX’s Shōgun stands apart as a genuine masterpiece.”

The reactions have so far been equally as positive across social media, with one fan weighing in: “#Shōgun is a bold, sweeping epic grounded by wonderful performances from Anna Sawai and the legendary Hiroyuki Sanada. Everything from the costume design to the cinematography is gorgeous and exquisite with bursts of beautifully choreographed violence interspersed throughout.”