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đŸ“ș In Search of Television at SCAD TVfest

TV Editor Alec Bojalad ventures to Atlanta to get to the bottom of a simple question: what is a TV show anyway?

Author

Michael Ahr
February 07, 2025

Friday Edition February 7, 2025

“Shƍgun? Is that a show?” 

I overhear that question from one young man to his friend as the bus departs the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. As a TV editor in the year 2025, I’ve grown accustomed to the general public not being fully aware whether the latest streaming hit is a TV series, a movie, or some combination of the two. Streaming has a way of blending every visual medium together into a content mush.

Still, this Shƍgun query surprises me. Not only is FX’s Shƍgun very much a TV show (and a damn good one at that, earning the Outstanding Drama Series award at the Emmys and the far more prestigious number one spot on Den of Geek’s list of best TV shows of 2024), but the bus I’m riding is actually a chartered shuttle to the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta campus to attend a panel on Stranger Things as part of SCAD TVfest. You know, “TVfest” as in “festival of television.”

Being a TV partisan in the modern era can often feel like being the most annoying guy at a party. Nobody wants to hear about your cable package, old man. Just let us watch our content in peace. Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers got a taste of that experience when accepting Variety’s “Showrunner Award” at that aforementioned panel, with Matt Duffer commenting on the young audience’s muted response to his mention of the ‘90s teen series Dawson’s Creek.

Yet, Shƍgun and Dawson’s Creek snafus aside, there were plenty of signs from SCAD TVfest that the episodic dream remains alive and well. I got to speak with many folks involved in some of our favorite shows from Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer to The Recruit star Noah Centineo to Mr. Shƍgun himself: Hiroyuki Sanada.

Through it all, a passion for the medium came through loud and clear, even for creators who fancied themselves filmmakers first and foremost like Schaeffer and the Duffer Brothers. In fact, it was the Duffers who had the best take on what makes television great.

“What I do love about television is we’re able to do these huge cinematic special effects sequences. But we also have a lot of time to spend with the characters so when they get into [those sequences], you deeply care about what’s going to happen to them,” Matt Duffer said.

Spoken like a true TV man.

— Alec Bojalad, TV Editor

Photo: Marvel

MOVIES
Captain America 4’s Anthony Mackie Knows the Marvel Heroes He Wants on His Avengers

“Avengers Assemble.” This signature line always elicits chills, but it hold even more gravitas when Captain America says it. Steve Rogers didn’t utter the iconic phrase until Endgame, and with Sam Wilson just now getting his own film with this month’s Captain America: Brave New World, it might be awhile before we hear it again.

But that won’t stop Anthony Mackie from making his picks from the pantheon of heroes to be among the Avengers when his Captain America calls them together again. However, with The Fantastic Four and The X-Men returning to Marvel, you might be surprised by some of the selections he made.

Photo: Apple TV+

TV
Severance: John Turturro Talks Irving’s Decision in Season 2’s Most Intense Scene

Prior to the release of season 2, Den of Geek caught up with the cast of Severance to discuss what’s to come, and acting legend John Turturro had a lot to say. Why, for example, does his character Irving B. seem to be at times more perceptive than his fellow innies? Does his outie’s apparent military experience come into play at all? What’s really going on?

We can’t get into too much detail about what Turturro revealed without spoiling things, but the actor was very forthcoming about how he perceives his character and what motivates him. He’s as convinced as we are that Irving B. must have some sort of access to the abilities that his counterpart possesses, and Severance so far has likewise delivered plenty of answers to long-held questions fans have had.

Photo: Katie Yu / FX

TV
Shƍgun’s Hiroyuki Sanada Has a Clear Plan for Season 2: “We Have Real History”

Hiroyuki Sanada has had a lot of practice for his starring role in Shƍgun. In his early acting career he portrayed on screen both Tokugawa Ieyasu, the historical figure upon whom his character Toranaga is based, and his historical rival Ishida Mitsunari
 twice! His personal knowledge of Japanese history may be part of why the FX series has been so successful.

Den of Geek TV Editor Alec Bojalad caught up with Sanada at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta, just after the actor received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the college, to talk about the journey that led to his role on the highly acclaimed series. The second season, which uses “real history” rather than book material, may be coming sooner than you think!

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EDITOR’S PICKS

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TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION

Which actor in FX’s 2024 Shƍgun also appeared in the 1980 miniseries adaptation?

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