For years, broadcast network television has largely abandoned long form miniseries and TV movies; which allowed HBO and other cable networks to dominate in those categories. However, Fox is making a move to bring back “event series” as soon as next year.
Earlier today, Fox announced two new “event series” in development for 2014 (via Deadline). Foremost among them was a new remake of “Shōgun;” which was previously adapted in 1980 as a five part miniseries on NBC. Originally published as a novel by James Clavell in 1975, “Shōgun” was loosely based upon the life of William Adams, the explorer who became the first “Western” samurai in Japan.
In the original “Shōgun” miniseries, Richard Chamberlain starred as John Blackthorne, a sailor stranded in Japan during the 17th century who rose to become a samurai in the service of the ambitious Yoshi Toranaga (Toshiro Mifune) while sharing a doomed romance with Lady Toda Mariko (Yôko Shimada). “Shōgun” was also the first American TV miniseries to be filmed entirely in Japan.
Michael De Luca (The Social Network) and Nigel Williams (Elizabeth I) are producing the new “Shōgun” for Fox from FX Productions. The other new “event series” announced today was “The Run Of His Life: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson;” based upon the book of the same name that chronicled the infamous O.J. Simpson double murder trial.
