Why ‘Marco Polo’ — And Netflix — Should Invest In More Awesome One-Off Character-Based Specials

When Marco Polo debuted on Netflix in December 2014, it was hyped up to be the streaming service’s most expensive, expansive, and epic show yet — and it was. The show took us all the way from 13th century Venice to the mythic court of Kublai Khan. We saw grim battles and over-the-top orgies. There were wrestling matches, make out scenes, assassination attempts, crazy ghost ninjas, and tons of scenes of courtly corruption. All told, season one of Marco Polo was a lot to take in. A year later and we’re still processing all the drama. That’s why the brand new 28-minute stand-alone special, Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes, is such a delight. It’s not sprawling or overwhelming; it’s a tightly-written, hyper-focused look at one of the series most compelling and enigmatic characters.

And Marco Polo — and Netflix — should do more one-offs like it.

Ironically, one of the main problems I had with Marco Polo was how much time it spent focusing on Marco Polo. In my mind, the snarky dreamer of a boy was a character I had seen many times before in TV, film, and literature. Instead, I wanted the series to explore more about the Mongolian empire, the medieval Chinese world, and all those fascinating multi-dimensional characters lurking around Kublai Khan’s court. Marco Polo will always and should always be the central character of a show called Marco Polo — I mean, duh —but as I watched Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes, I kept thinking of what other spin-off specials I’d love to see Netflix produce for the series. It turns out there are a lot.

Marco Polo has already teased incredible backstories for Empress Chiabi and Prince Jingim, the mythic warrior princess Khutulun, the loyal Byamba, the scheming Ahmad, and not to mention, all the characters in China, but that’s just scratching the surface of the seismically dramatic tale of the Khans. Generations before Kublai Khan, his ancestor Genghis Khan raised the Mongolians up from being a tribal power on the bleak Eurasian Steppe to one of the greatest military and political powers the world has ever known*. It’s fascinating stuff! And it often got bogged down and put in the background in favor of young Marco Polo’s personal journey to self-discovery.

Now Marco Polo will always and should always be the central character of a show called Marco Polo, but Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes opens up the possibility for future one-offs about all those other riveting nobles and warriors lurking about. Not only that, but the spin-off format gives the show runners the opportunity to explore the era of Genghis Khan and his legendary generals without upsetting the narrative flow of Marco Polo.

Netflix’s unique scheduling model means that they aren’t beholden to traditional television season structure. They can continue to drop special event episodes for Marco Polo and any other of their Originals whenever they want. They’ve already done a BoJack Horseman Christmas special, but what else could they do? A “cable news event” featuring journalists covering a Frank Underwood election? A Daredevil special about how Kingpin and Wesley became best friends? A day in the life of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘s Tituss?!? The possibilities are endless!

Netflix should consider using more of these special event episodes as a way to expand the universes they are creating in their original programming — and to continue to explore what streaming can do that traditional television cannot.

[Watch Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes on Netflix]

[Watch Season One of Marco Polo on Netflix]

*In case you want to know more about what happened before Netflix’s Marco Polo, the podcast Hardcore History has an in-depth series on Genghis Khan and the rise of the Mongolian Empire called “Wrath of the Khans.”

[Photo: Netflix]