HBO GO constantly crashes when Game of Thrones comes on. The show is also one of the most pirated shows ever. Cordcutters want to pay a la carte for the shows and program they want. Customers do not want to pay cable and satellite companies a boat load of money when they only watch a few channels. HBO didn’t listen to them. Yes, they do plan to offer a detached service free of the confines of cable and satellite service but it is not because they want to satisfy cordcutters. They are doing because Netflix is stating to eat their lunch and win awards they once were a lock for. Shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black have shown that Netflix can become a content powerhouse in its own right. Following those lines, Netflix’s new shows are more ambitious. Netflix hopes the new shows Bloodline and Marco Polo can help it capture market share from traditional content providers.
Bloodline
Not much is really known about this show. We should know more as we get closer to the March 2015 release date. What we do know is that its from the creators of DAMAGES. The original series will star Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini, Norbert Leo Butz, Jacinda Barrett, Jamie McShane, Enrique Murciano, with Sam Shepard, and Sissy Spacek.
“We’re not bad people… But we did a bad thing…”
Marco Polo
To say that the new original series Marco Polo has a massive budget would be an understatement. The show is estimated to cost $90 million dollars to produce. That is a Hollywood blockbuster movie budget. The show is based on the based on the famous 13th century explorer. The 10-episode series seems to capture that same grit, sex and creative writing that made Game of Thrones such an instant sensation.
Intrigue. Deception. Bloodshed. These are just some of the obstacles awaiting legendary explorer Marco Polo as he navigates the inner court of 13th century ruler, Kublai Khan. From the back alleys of Venice to the perilous Silk Road, from the opulence of the Imperial City to the battlefields of China, Marco Polo is an epic action-adventure, where cultures clash, blood is spilled, and lies are told.
The 10-episode series will debut Friday, December 12th on Netflix Instant. You can view the gritty teaser trailer for Marco Polo below: