[3] The series was created by John Fusco and stars Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role, with Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan.

[4] 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.

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.

[14][15] 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.

[16] 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.

[17] 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.

[19] 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.

Jingim is set to marry the Blue Princess, the former love interest of Marco Polo, securing more heirs to the throne.

This is the same man who's working with Mei Lin to overthrow Kublai, even telling her that she could see her daughter in exchange for bringing the boy emperor to the capital.

Marco also tells Kublai of the many people in south China killing themselves, as they see the Mongolian presence not as liberation but as occupation.

As the boy emperor hangs from the capital, and the Handmaiden takes the sight in, Kublai awakes from another nightmare, his wife still lambasting him for his decision to kill a child.

Marco isn't too happy with him either, and with both in crisis, Kublai takes his Venetian friend on a hike in order to decide what to do about Kaidu's claim to the throne.

That means taking down a large warrior in a wrestling match and earning some respect, though that doesn't stop Kaidu's two children from attacking them on their way home.

Here she finds out that the stable boy who impregnated her has been killed, and when she goes to see the body for herself, she stumbles upon his wife and spends the day with her and her baby.

Kublai states that while he'll still travel to Xanadu to challenge Kaidu, he gives Ahmad control of his forces to strike back.

The situation is about to get even more complicated because the real Princess Kokachin shows up, apparently not dead like we all believed, and wants her life back.

At the same time, Marco continues to grow suspicious of Ahmad, especially as he decides to send nearly 60,000 troops to battle the uprising and only 7,000 with Kublai to Xanadu.

Eventually, after a night of passion with an exotic dancer who's traveled the world, the Blue Princess visits Marco and the mystery of the horses is solved.

That's all part of Ahmad's grand scheme, though: send Jingim east to die while Nayan and Kaidu amass troops in the west.

There's a twist that Ahmad doesn't expect: Mei Lin turns on him after he fails to deliver on his promise for her to see her daughter.

For a while it looks like Marco has no choice but to kill his father, but a last-minute attack leaves the elder Polo's fate hanging in the balance.

As for Mei Lin, she's escaped her entrapment with Ahmad, daughter in tow, and when Mongols attack her on the road, Lotus comes to her aid.

Borrowing an unconventional battle tactic from his grandfather Genghis, the Khan lights all of his white horses on fire and sends them charging through the enemy camp.

First, the Empress helps the Blue Princess drown herself, and Kublai attempts to poison Kaidu, hoping to stop the potential leak of the information.

She kills him and, in return, Jingim allows her to leave the capital freely, with Hundred Eyes offering to escort her back to her daughter.

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.

[21] 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.

"[22] Writing for People, Tom Gliatto praised the series, calling it "... a fun, body-flinging, old-fashioned epic".

[23] USA Today reviewer Robert Bianco gave the series 11⁄2 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.