Cosmo Jarvis’ idea for a major change in Shogun would have gone badly with the American audience.

Shogun, undoubtedly one of the most loved projects of 2024, is a testament to the creative vision of Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks. This dynamic husband-and-wife duo dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to the monumental task of bringing James Clavell’s novel to life in the form of a television show.

The show is a true love letter to Japanese period drama, and it appears Cosmo Jarvis wanted a huge change in the show that would have definitely made Americans detest it.

Cosmo Jarvis Wanted A Huge Change In Shogun That Would Have Made US Viewers Loathe It

When speaking to Decider ahead of the Winter 2024 TCA panel for Shōgun, actor Jarvis revealed the journey behind crafting John Blackthorne’s distinctive voice. Jarvis explained that his approach to projects is typically literal, but researching language for the 1600s setting of Shōgun proved challenging due to the limited resources in historical linguistics.

“I tend to look at projects very literally. I take the subject matter literally,” Jarvis said, before explaining that Shōgun‘s 1600 setting made research a bit tricky. “It’s a difficult area to research because only very serious professionals actually research historical linguistics. And I was able to find out that English as spoken in 1600 wouldn’t have been understandable by you and I. So that was out.”

Undeterred by the obstacle, Jarvis sought inspiration from older sources and stumbled upon recordings of a 1930s English sailor, fascinated by the wispy quality of his voice. However, just before filming, showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo suggested lowering the pitch of Blackthorne’s voice, prompting Jarvis to adapt his approach.

“I was able to find some old recordings of a sailor from like the 1930s. He’s from England and I liked his voice. His voice sort of had this wispy, high, very high, quality to it and it felt like a relic. And so I experimented with that.”

“Rachel said, ‘Is that the voice?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’” Jarvis said. “And she said, ‘Lower.’”

“So then I threw away everything I’d done and I reread the script and I had to basically accept that the script demanded that Blackthorne was a certain — he fills a purpose within the script.”

In reevaluating the script, Jarvis also grappled with the realization that, despite being predominantly in English, it wasn’t historically accurate, as the characters were supposed to be speaking Portuguese in many instances.

Date For The Next Shōgun Episode

The upcoming episode of Shōgun will be available for streaming on Hulu on Tuesday, March 19, and will also air on FX that same night at 10 PM EST. Naturally, there is a lot of hype and anticipation for the episode, for good reason.

How Many More Episodes Remain For Shōgun?

Shōgun will consist of a total of 10 episodes. With 4 episodes already aired, there are 6 episodes — and six weeks — of this dynasty-shaping television epic still remaining, so there are quite a few things to look forward to.

Full Episode Schedule For Shōgun

Episode 1. “Anjin”: Now streaming as of February 27
Episode 2. “Servants of Two Masters”: Now streaming as of February 27
Episode 3. “Tomorrow is Tomorrow”: Now streaming as of March 5
Episode 4. “The Eightfold Fence”: Now streaming as of March 12
Episode 5. “Broken to the Fist”: Streaming on March 19
Episode 6. “”Ladies of the Willow World” Streaming on March 26
Episode 7. “Broken to the Fist,” Streaming on April 2
Episode 8. “The Abyss of Life,” Streaming on April 9
Episode 9. “Crimson Sky,” Streaming on April 16
Episode 10. “A Dream of a Dream,” Streaming on April 23

Fans can stream the beloved show on Hulu in the USA. We will have to wait and see how the upcoming episodes will fare, in the eyes of the show’s loyal viewers.