As a prestige show with a Japanese script, "Shōgun" had the odds stacked against it. Its Emmys success shows non-English shows are worth investing in.

Showrunner Justin Marks thanked FX for greenlighting a “very expensive, subtitled, Japanese period piece whose climax revolves around a poetry contest—I have no idea why you did that, but thank you so much.” Marks gave the Emmy-winning star Hiroyuki Sanada, who spoke in Japanese as Marks translated.