Netflix is becoming a powermonger. With the success of original series like "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," the network has rapidly become one of television's biggest contenders over the past year. It has the clout to do what it wants. It introduced a new innovative way to watch television and people are catching on. So move over top dogs, Netflix is gunning for the top spot.
In it's most recent power play, Netflix is looking to snag "Marco Polo" from Starz. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Starz originally developed the drama series in January 2012, but the network released it to producers at the Weinstein Co. and Elecrus after its efforts to film in China dwindled and died. Weinstein Co. is now debating whether to pass the project along to Netflix as a nine-episode series or make it into a feature film.
The nine-chapter story of "Marco Polo" portrays an explorer's journeys and his relationship with the tyrant Kublai Khan. It's the true story of the world's greatest storyteller. It's described as "an epic and cinematic adventure of high politics, masterful manipulation and deadly warfare." It's told from the perspective of a young Marco Polo at the onset of a vicious war between two opposing empires in China during the 13th century. The show is chock full of brutal combat, fiery romance, religious struggle, conniving politics and large scale battles.
If acquired, the series would help round out Netflix's already impressive dockett, which includes "Orange is the New Black," "Hemlock Grove," "House of Cards," Arrested Development" and Ricky Gervais' "Derek." Netflix CEO Reed Hastings plans to double the network's original programming in 2014, so claiming the rights to "Marco Polo" would certainly be a step in the right direction.
There's no stopping Netflix. It's barrelling in with a full head of steam. No one has the audacity to stand up to it. It's a new world. Netflix is the new television.