'Marco Polo' Netflix Series Release Date: Latest Series With Historical Flavor

"Marco Polo" is the new Netflix series and the latest to delve into history. It is set to premiere on Dec. 12. Since it is on Netflix, viewers can binge on all 10 episodes at once.

The ability to watch all 10 episodes of the hit series will no doubt be tempting to many as they do not have to wait for one week for the next episode to be released. This formula has been exploited by Netflix which has come up with a number of series like "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," both of which turned out to be critical and commercial successes.

"Marco Polo" is loosely based on the adventures of the real-life traveler and historian who visited China and the court of Kublai Khan in the 13th century. In the lead role of Marco Polo is Lorenzo Richelmy. The other members of the cast include Zhu Zhu playing Kokachin, Benedict Wong playing Kublai Khan, Joan Chen playing Empress Chabi, and Remy Hii playing Prince Jingim.

Netflix, in collaboration with The Weinstein Company, is involved in producing the "Marco Polo" series, which is quite similar to the ongoing series "Game of Thrones" since it also has plenty of intrigue, sex, blood and violence.

However, the series has a solid historical base as it draws from the book "Il Milione" which was written by Marco Polo to document his adventures.

TechTimes notes that this series pushes Netflix into direct competition with HBO, which until now has dominated all other networks with a slew of hit dramas. It also gives viewers a good option if they want o satiate their thirst for historical dramas.

"Marco Polo" was created by John Fusco, who will also be working on the Netflix movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend." The latter will be released in 2015.

The first two episodes of "Marco Polo" were directed by Dan Minahan, who previously worked on "Game of Thrones."