Netflix cancels 'Marco Polo' teleseries

The Asian and Asian/American cast of 'Marco Polo' will be missed.

THE BAD NEWS is that the grand, epic Marco Polo teleseries has been cancelled after two seasons. The good news is that a whole host of AAPI actors are now free to sign up for new projects.

Netflix opted to cancel the third season of the historical drama about the intrigue and sex surrounding the 13th century court of Mongol conquerer Kublai Khan.

"We want to thank and are grateful to our partners on Marco Polo from the actors, whose performances were enthralling and top-notch; to the committed producers, including John Fusco, Dan Minahan, Patrick Macmanus, and their crew, who poured their hearts into the series; and of course Harvey (Weinstein), David (Glasser) and our friends at TWC, who were great collaborators from start to finish," Netflix vp original content Cindy Holland said Monday in a statement.

A couple of months ago, showrunner John Fusco said the cast was ready and committed to continue into the third season, which would center around the death of the great Khan.

Executive producer Fusco and TWC's Harvey Weinstein are working on an idea "in a similar space," which raised speculation that they might move to another network. Fusco and his team are presumed to be discussing the issue with HBO's Richard Plepler, AMC's Josh Sapan, A+E's Nancy Dubuc and NBC Universal's Bonnie Hammer.

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Weinstein Co. co-chairman Weinstein, who with Fusco hinted they would soon be reteaming for another similarly themed drama in the works, added: "Netflix has been incredible to give us the room to make a series with a cast true to every principle of diversity. It’s a bold network that allows you to do that and support us in the way that Netflix did. As many people know, Asian history and the world of martial arts have fascinated me for all of my career — I’ve made many movies around these topics and this genre, and now this TV show I’m so proud of. John has been a great partner and we're both fascinated to continue exploring this exciting period in history on future projects together." 

Marco Polo was a unique product and there might not ever be another TV series like it again with its huge Asian and Asian/American cast with a storyline where the lone white actor is not the focus of most of the plotlines. The show introduced U.S. audiences to a plethora of AAPI talent, including the wonderful Benedict Wong, who played Kublai Khan, Zhu Zhu, Olivia Cheng, Claudia Kim, Tom Wu, veterans Joan Chen, Rick Yune and Michelle Yeoh  and a whole slew of other actors proving (once and for all) that there is no lack of AAPI talent if producers and casting agents bother to look.

Marco Polo had some serious flaws, but the show deserves a place in AAPI entertainment history for showing - all in one show - a wide range of Asians (Mongols, Indians, Chinese, Korean, Muslim, Christian, men, women, schemers, warriors, lovers). 

In a rare opportunity, non-Asian audiences were able to see a wide range of Asian characters with complex backgrounds and personalities demonstrating that if U.S. audiences were given the chance to see Asian characters as imperfect individuals, fear and cheer them as individuals - instead of seeing them as one huge amorphous, anonymous "other."

Set in China, Marco Polo showed American audiences that the history of the world did not center around Europe. While most of Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages, advanced and complex civilizations were thriving in Asia.

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Asians in space: Michelle Yeoh cast in new Star Trek series

Michelle Yeoh joins the Star Trek family.

THE UNIVERSE made up of Trekkies, Trekkers and science fiction fans was buzzing last week when it was revealed that Michelle Yeoh was cast in the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery series. What role would she play, the captain or the First Officer? Would she have an important role or just be in the supporting cast?

Yeoh, who has made a big impression on Hollywood with her breakthrough role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is a motion picture A-lister and shouldn't be satisfied with a minor role on television.

All that excitement was tempered somewhat when we learned that that she will play Captain Han Bo, commander of the USS Shenzou (assumedly named after China's first manned spacecraft in 2003), and not even a crew member of the titular starship Discovery.

Followup articles, however by Moviefone, revealed that producer Bryan Fuller, is taking a different story-telling tack with this latest iteration of creator Gene Roddenberry's universe.

"I think we will be seeing lots of crews in the story," he said. "One of the things that is exciting for me is that we are telling a 'Star Trek' story in a modern way. We're telling a 13-chapter story in this first season. It's nice to be able to dig deep into things that would have been breezed passed if we were doing episodic and had to contain a story to an episode."

Think The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, where it takes a whole season to tell a story, jumping back and forth between a multitude of storylines. That means Yeoh's character may yet play a significant role in at least one of storylines. It seems odd that the producers' first cast announcement would be of a role unless they plan that Yeoh will play a major part in this version of Star Trek, which is supposed to take place 10 years before the original series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

Fuller said he would follow the tradition set by the original Star Trek, that had one of the most diverse casts when it debuted in 1966 - the final cast will be diverse, racially as well as alien-wise. "We haven’t cast her yet, so we don’t know what level of diversity she will be, but that’s forefront in our minds. We’ll probably have a few more aliens than you typically have on the show," Fuller revealed in an interview in Entertainment.

Yet to be announced are the key roles of the captain and the first officer of the USS Discovery, The star apparently won’t be the captain but rather be a lieutenant commander,or Number One, he said. “We’ve seen six series from the captain’s point of view; to see a character from a different perspective on the starship — one who has a different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates, it gave us richer context.”

Yeoh's role is something of a first for Star Trek, as although there have been women of color playing captains and admirals before, these are usually very minor roles. Yeoh also adds some more Asian representation to Trek. There have only been three Asian main characters  in the entire Star Trek franchise so far: Lt Hikaru Sulu on The Original Series, Ensign Harry Kim in Voyager, and Ensign Hoshi Sato on Enterprise.

Speaking of Sulu ...

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Review: 'Marco Polo' on Netflix is bigger, better as its AAPI actors take over

Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan and a cast of thousands in Netflix's "Marco Polo."

WITH VERY LITTLE fanfare, Marco Polo, the dazzling epic television series, debuted its second season on Netflix over the Independence Day weekend.

If you have been following the #OscarsSoWhite or #WhitewashedOut controversy and want to see more Asians in television and the movies, this series Asians and Pacific Islanders - thousands of them.

If you want martial arts, this show has the best one-on-one choreographed fighting since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

If you want palace intrigue, complicated plots, back-stabbing or ...

If you're just suffering from Game of Throne withdrawals, this is a story that satisfy that craving.

If you want beautiful women and studly men in your entertainment ... well, Marco Polo has one of the best looking casts on television.

Season Two of this remarkable undertaking is noteworthy in a few ways. Although the show is named after the Italian explorer, the Asian cast is getting the better lines and more air time. That means a bigger role for Benedict Wong's Kublai Khan, whose strong presence demands your attention in every scene he's in. 

The old wise monk Hundred Eyes is delivering some of the series'  best lines. His role is kind of like old lady Crawley in Downton Abbey, getting in zingers to keep the seriousness at bay.

Joan Chen's role has expanded to be more than a beautiful prop. Her character as wife of the khan now pushes the plot forward and she has ambitions of her own as one of the Khan's trusted advisers.

The addition of Michelle Yeoh to the cast as the mysterious warrior fighting for the last remnants of the Song empire gives another excuse for those fantastic acrobatic fights Yeo made famous in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

With the reduction of Marco Polo, played by Lorenzo Richelmy, to a side story instead of the main storyline, the entire story enters a grander scale allowing more interesting plotlines to be explored.

It would be advised to watch the last episode of season one to reacquaint yourself with all the characters. So much plotting is going on between the different factions seeking power, it is a little difficult keeping everything straight.

It says a lot of how we've been brainwashed but I almost expect the characters to speak in British accents because the Brits are so good at historical dramatizations. When some of the characters begin to speak in modern cadence and American idioms, the effect is jarring and out of place.
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WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD (Skip the next paragraph)

Don't mistake Marco Polo as a documentary. The writers take liberty with real history for the sake of drama, but that's OK if we're looking for an interesting story. Kublai Khan does not kill the child emperor of the Song Dynasty. But when it occurs in the TV series, it is a powerful, powerful scene.

All in all, the second season looks like an improvement over the first season. It is well worth giving it a second look if you were disappointed with the first season. It's a beautiful production with its exotic sets and costumes. Thanks to CGI we can now see long shots of the Chinese cities giving us a sense of life in that era. 

As viewers become more familiar with the vast array of characters, (a lot is going on)  and untangle all the little subplots, it should develop a stronger following. It is only too bad that because it is on Netflix, the viewership will never approach that of Game of Thrones.

Marco Polo could serve another role its writers and producers probably didn't intend. Because of the shift of attention away from the Venetian adventurer to the Chinese and Mongols, U.S. audiences can see the world from a perspective that is not exclusively Euro-centric and the history and culture of the world did not all emanate from the west.

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For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II, a cut below the original

Michelle Yeoh is back in the sequel to the long-awaited Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

"CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: Sword of Destiny" suffers from being compared to the original which won an Academy Award as Best Picture.

Since it was first announced several years ago, it became one of the most highly anticipated sequels for its legions of fangs the world over. Alas, it didn't reach the high bar set by the first film.

It has all the flash and dash of clashing swords, fantastic jumps and flips that introduced the Hong Kong-style cinematic martial arts to the mainstream audience,  as the original but it lacked the depth and presence a Chow Yun Fat and the lyricism and spirituality that director Ang Lee was able to infuse throughout the original.

Oh, the action that took your breath away in the original is still there. Yuen Wo-Ping, who did the action choreography for Ang Lee, is at the director's helm for this one. His forte is present in all the fight scenes, especially a almost beautiful battle that takes place on a frozen lake as the opponents glide through the fight as if they're in the ice dance competition in the Olympics.

Michelle Yeoh reprises her character Shu Lien, a panther-like martial artist with deep emotions that struggles to control. While Donnie Yen does well in the action scenes, he doesn't come close to matching Yeoh's complexity. Yen makes you appreciate gravitas and soulfulness Chow Yun Fat brought to his character. When Yeoh and Yen are alone with each other, Yeoh might as well have been conversing with a wall.

Promising newcomer Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Glee's Harry Shum Jr. brought some cuteness to their budding relationship and both did more than well in their fight scenes. Jason Scott Lee could not do much with his one-dimensional villain.The other characters were just archetypes with no real depth. I suspect those missing elements may have been left in the editing room floor to trim it to its 105 minute length. 

In this era of #OscarSoWhite, the talented all-Asian cast could have been the best example to bury any antiquated notion that an American audience always needs a white actor to relate to (ala The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise) for a film to be successful. My fear is that the less-than stellar reviews might reinforce that idea among Hollywood's studios.

The U.S.-China co-production was released on this side of the Pacific on Netflix and on select IMAX screens simultaneously. However, the movie was released in China a week earlier and is doing well enough financially to perhaps earn another sequel. The trans-Pacific partnership might be a harbinger of a growing trend but producers and studios shouldn't sacrifice quality for the sake of profit ... uh, wha'? Quality over profit? Am I dreaming?

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For more news about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" unveils its first trailer

Michelle Yeoh returns star in "Croaching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" on Netflix

AT LAST, the long-awaited sequel to the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that mainstreamed the stylized kung-fu visuals popular in Asia, finally has a premiere date. The follow-up to the sword and sorcery movie is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and its premiere on Netflix and in IMAX theaters is set for Friday, February 26, 2016.

Judging just from looks alone, this looks like a worthy successor to the motion picture blockbuster directed by Ang Lee and released in 2000.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny tells an epic story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption, set against breathtaking action in an epic martial arts battle between good and evil that will decide the fate of the Martial World.

Michelle Yeoh will reprise her pivotal role of Yu Shu-Lien, who wowed us with her artistic  choreographed fights in the original epic that took place in ancient China. Can anyone forget that first fight scene from the original movie? It literally took my breath away. She is the only actor returning from the first movie.

The Sword of Destiny is directed by the renowned martial arts choreographer (The Matrix Trilogy and Kill Bill 1& 2) and director (Tai Chi Master) Yuen Wo-Ping.

Based on the acclaimed novel, Iron Knight, Silver Vase, by Wang Dulu (book 5 in the Crane-Iron Pentalogy) and written by John Fusco (Marco Polo) the new film has fantastic DNA. It is produced by Harvey Weinstein and Sarah Aubrey and executive produced by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters, The Imitation Game), Ralph Winter (X-Men franchise), Anthony Wong and Bey Logan (The Medallion).

Natasha Liu Bordizzo

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny also stars Donnie Yen (Ip Man 1&2, Monkey King 3D) as Silent Wolf, Harry Shum Jr. (Glee, Revenge of the Green Dragons), Jason Scott Lee (Seventh Son, Hawaii Five-O), Roger Yuan (Bulletproof Monk), Eugenia Yuan (Revenge of the Green Dragons) and newcomer Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

Can't wait!