| Genre: | Historical Drama Adventure |
| Creator: | John Fusco |
| Theme Music Composer: | Daniele Luppi |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 20 + 1 special |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Budget: | $200 million[1] |
| Channel: | Netflix |
Marco Polo is an American drama television series inspired by Marco Polo's early years in the court of Kublai Khan, the Khagan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The show premiered on Netflix on December 12, 2014.[2] The series was created by John Fusco and stars Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role, with Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan.[3] It was produced by The Weinstein Company. On January 7, 2015, Marco Polo was renewed by Netflix for a 10-episode second season, which premiered on July 1, 2016.[4]
On December 12, 2016, Netflix announced that they had canceled Marco Polo after two seasons. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the two seasons resulted in a $200 million loss for Netflix, and the decision to cancel was jointly taken by Netflix and The Weinstein Company.[5]
The series was originally developed at Starz, which had picked up the series in January 2012.[9] After attempts to film in China failed, the project was released back to The Weinstein Company. Netflix then picked up the series for a 10-episode season, for approximately $90 million, making it one of the most expensive TV shows in the world, second to Game of Thrones.[10] [11] The project was officially announced at Netflix in January 2014. Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg serve as executive producers and directed the pilot and second episodes, "The Wayfarer" and "The Wolf and the Deer", respectively.[12] The series was filmed in Kazakhstan, Italy, and at Pinewood Studios in Malaysia,[12] as well as at outdoor locations in Malaysia, particularly tropical wilderness, as well as Slovakia and Hungary. Kazakhstan doubled as the steppes of Mongolia, Malaysia was the base of operations as well as serving as a location, Hungary provided a setting for Renaissance Rome, and Slovakia provided some mountain settings for Season 2.[13] [14]
Stuntman Ju Kun was working on the show alongside fight choreographer Brett Chan, but went missing with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 during pre-production.[15]
To prepare for her role as Chabi, Joan Chen read the book The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford, as she wanted her performance to reflect the culture of the time period.[16]
During his extensive research, show creator John Fusco traveled the Silk Road by horseback and also crossed the Ming Sha Dunes of Western China on camel. In Venice he sought out and studied the last will and testament of Marco Polo.[17] While some Mongolian viewers and experts view it as "riddled with historical errors", many have praised the series. Orgil Makhaan, who played Genghis Khan in a BBC documentary, said it was more accurate than any previous foreign portrayal of Mongolian culture. "As a Mongol and an artist, Marco Polo makes me feel like our dreams are coming true," he told AFP. "I watched all 10 episodes in just one day."[18]
The series featured music by Mongolian bands Altan Urag and Batzorig Vaanchig, a famous throat singer, who cameoed as a singer. Daniele Luppi composed the main theme, whilst Peter Nashel and Eric V. Hachikian are the composers of the original score.
The first season of Marco Polo received mixed to negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a rating of 33%, based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 4.79/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "An all-around disappointment, Marco Polo is less entertaining than a round of the game that shares its name."[19] On Metacritic, the show's first season has a score of 48 out of 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20]
In his review for Entertainment Weekly, Jeff Jensen gave the first season a "B−" rating, calling the premise "stale", but added "Somewhere in the middle of episode 2, though, Marco Polo becomes surprisingly watchable. The filmmaking becomes bolder."[21] Writing for People, Tom Gliatto praised the series, calling it "... a fun, body-flinging, old-fashioned epic".[22] USA Today reviewer Robert Bianco gave the series 1 stars out of 4, saying, "Clearly what Netflix hopes you'll see a [sic] big-bucks, prestige entertainment along the lines of that HBO fantasy epic, but in truth, Marco is far closer to one of those cheesy international syndicated adventures."[23]
The second season was met with more positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a rating of 100%, based on 6 reviews, with a rating average of 7.2/10.[24]
In 2015, the President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, presented John Fusco and the Marco Polo creative team with an award, honoring their positive portrayal and global presentation of Mongolian subject matter.[25] Fusco himself has described the series as historical fiction based on the accounts of the Italian traveler Marco Polo.[26]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music | Daniele Luppi | ||
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Main Title – TV Show/Digital Series | Daniele Luppi | |||
| Golden Trailer Awards | Best Trailer/Teaser for a TV Series/Mini-Series | Aspect | |||
| Australian Production Design Guild Awards | Set Decoration on a Television Drama | Christian Petersen | |||
| SXSW Film Festival | Excellence in Title Design | ||||
| 2016 | American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series | Vanja Cernjul | ||
| Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Television Movie/Mini-Series/Pilot | Romain Lacourbas | ||||
| 2017 | Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Short Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television | |||