Watch the trailer for Netflix's new Game of Thrones competitor, Marco Polo


Netflix has been lauded for the success of original dramas like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black — but the streaming giant isn't just resting on its laurels. The company's latest original series, which cost a reported $90 million to produce, is the historical drama Marco Polo — and the first new trailer shows where all that money went:
Marco Polo will follow the famed explorer (Lorenzo Richelmy) as he wanders the globe making discoveries. "Marco, the blood of an adventurer courses through your veins," says an older man, over shots of Polo's travels. "You will enjoy the greatest adventure of them all."
Between HBO's Game of Thrones, Starz's Outlander, and History's Vikings, historically-inspired dramas have become the telltale sign of a network that wants to be taken seriously. We'll see if Marco Polo belongs in that group when it arrives in December.
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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
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