Netflix ends Marco Polo’s journey

Netflix’s Marco Polo

Netflix has cancelled its original drama series Marco Polo.

The streaming service green-lit the second ten-episode season soon after the first launched on its platform, but it will not get a third outing.

The show followed famous explorer Marco Polo’s early days in the court of Yuan dynasty Emperor Kublai Khan in the 13^th century, launched in December 2014, in the early days of Netflix Originals.

The show had a huge reported budget of US$90 million (€85 million) a season and was made by the ITV-owned TV arm of The Weinstein Group, which had originally set up the drama at premium cable net Starz.

Netflix is ramping up spend on original drama and the cancellation makes Marco Polo the first of its shows to not get a third season.

It cancelled family thriller Bloodline earlier this year after three series.