Netflix’s Marco Polo: Coming Soon

Netflix has become a byword for quality television. Original series from the online streaming service such as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards have reached both critical and cultural acclaim. The site’s own content over the last few years has been continuously raising the bar for quality drama and comedy, but its new upcoming epic looks to even further rival television’s greats.

Marco Polo, which launches on Netflix on December 12th, promises to be a trilling, elegant, and impressively picturesque historical drama. Summarised in a premise by Netflix:

“In a world replete with greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry, Marco Polo is based on the famed explorer’s adventures in Kublai Khan’s court in 13th century China”

In its latest trailer released this week, Marco Polo is painted to be Netflix’s answer to the sensational array of  action drama that has exploded in popularity in recent years. The footage draws on the brutality and sexuality that hit series such as Game of Thrones have thrived from. Unlike Game of Thrones however, Marco Polo of course is not fantasy yet still looks set to fantasise the archaic much in the same way that popular series such as BBC’s The Musketeers and the historical drama, The Vikings also do. Unique to these dramas however, which while admittedly being diverse in their violent action hinge ultimately on raw bloody ferocity, Marco Polo‘s plot which unfolds in Mongolia and China by the looks of things, opens the door to focus on martial arts in popular historical drama. This is a neat addition to the genre will perhaps   trade brutality for elegance. The most striking thing about Marco Polo‘s latest trailer, and indeed its original teaser however, is its cinematic beauty. Its rich scenic vistas and diverse landscapes that don’t look to be spoiled by the overuse of CGI are as tantalising as the dark ominous dialogue. The overt themes of outsiders finding their place, the planning and the politics of war and ever-looming battle on the horizon suggests that Marco Polo will be a must-watch for fans of the growing television subgenre that The Vikings and Game of Thrones also find themselves in.

Much like these shows on a non-content note, Marco Polo will run for a short first season of only 10 episodes. While this will seem like a treat to UK viewers who only see quality drama such as Sherlock run for three episodes every two years, it stands as the next US show in a long list advocating a shorter than average series length. Such a limited amount of episodes in contemporary television drama, however, now stands to be an advertisement of high-culture quality programming.

Relative unknown (to the non-Italian screen), Lorenzo Richelmy will be taking the helm as the titular Venetian traveller, supported by a host of slightly better known actors such as Chin Han (The Dark Knight & Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Benedict Wong (Prometheus) who will play ruler of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Kahn. Unlike with House of Cards which practically markets itself by boasting Kevin Spacey in its lead role as Frank Underwood, Netflix’s  casting approach to Marco Polo parallels that of Orange is the New Black by instead collecting an ensemble of more hidden talent. To promote this new cast Netflix, this week, released character posters of Marco Polo‘s leads.

Olivia Cheng as Mei Lin

Benedict Wong as Kublai Kahn

Lorenzo Richelmy as Marco Polo

Of course it may be premature given that only two trailers and several posters have been released for this Netflix original series, but given the service’s historical success for unique quality content and the enticing footage we’ve already seen, it’s not ridiculous to suggest that this series will score well with critics and viewers. Marco Polo may soon not only be etched in history but also alongside Game of Thrones and The Vikings, among contemporary television drama’s archaic elite.