The Jury: Murder Trial; Shōgun

“It is absolutely terrifying. You know how they say you should never see how a sausage is made? Well, my friends, better a thousand sausages than any of the workings of this foundational piece of the criminal justice system – the best method of dispensing fairness we have been able to invent, and upon which the fates of uncountable millions of accused, their accusers and silent victims have depended. It is wholly addictive and possibly even valuable television, if you can afford the despair.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“For once the adjective ‘groundbreaking’ did not sound la-di-da. A four-part venture to ‘test the justice system’ by recreating a genuine court case word for word using actors and two separate juries to see if they would reach the same verdict is not only in the public interest, it is tasty television. I did wonder if some of them had been deliberately chosen for their bluntness or because they were influenced by their own past problems to make better TV, which, obviously, wouldn’t happen with real jury selection. But it is delicious to have this glimpse behind the sacred closed door.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Honestly, it’s fascinating. This is how juries actually reach their decision: by bringing their prejudices and life experiences to the courtroom, judging the defendant according to their personal set of rules, and often letting their heart rule their head. Judges and barristers will watch the whole thing through their fingers.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Two doubts mar this format. We don’t know whether the jurors were selected at random, or chosen for their backgrounds and personalities. And the behaviour of some is so provocative, I question whether they have been encouraged to stir up controversy.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“It adapts James Clavell’s classic 1975 novel with ambition and evident respect for its source material, and given that the paperback is more than 1,000 pages long, it is extraordinary that they have managed to condense it into 10 episodes. The result is peacocking, mesmerising television.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“The adaptation falls short of greatness. At times it feels too dense – too much talking about feudal politics when there should be more action. Cosmo Jarvis, although charismatic, has an edge of wry humour in his voice that doesn’t always fit the circumstances. But the production looks magnificent. And the strength of Shōgun is the way it immerses us in a world that, with its rituals and violence, feels as foreign to us as it does to Blackthorne. This is not a series for the lily-livered, and is all the better for that.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Though it sensitively tweaks the source material while staying true to the overall story, the new show somehow manages to make this tale of warring feuding dynasties into a bit of a snooze. It picks up speed eventually, and its battle scenes are both exquisite and gory. But out of the gate, it can feel like taking the slow boat to nowhere.”
Ed Power, The i

“The Rings of Power, The Wheel of Time, The Last of Us: many shows in the past few years have shot for the title of ’the next Game of Thrones’. In Shōgun, Disney+ might just have picked a winner. With more sex and violence than the service’s usual fare, it’s an ambitious deviation. But this well-paced and considered saga will reward grown-up viewers and prove that there’s still room for a historical epic among the elves, dragons and zombies of big-budget telly.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent