Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) much-touted show Marco Polo is full of historical errors, says a report from AFP citing Mongolian viewers and experts. The life Journey of a 13th century Venetian explorer and his years at the court of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan is shown in the bug budget Netflix original Marco Polo. Kublai Khan was a valiant grandson of Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan.
Riddled with imperfections
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shelled out millions of dollars on the show, and claimed it to be the befitting reply to HBOs huge hit Games of Thrones. However, the show failed to meet the expectations, and now the experts question the accuracy of the content.
Mongolian viewers felt good seeing one of the Mongolian actor playing Kublai’s brother Ariq Boke, even though the leading roles were offered and given to Chinese actors or those of Chinese descent, such as Briton Benedict Wong, who plays Kublai. However, Mongolian historians hold the view that most of the plot is not in line with the history and the facts.
Batsukh Otgonsereenen, who has given 10 years in researching his book The History of Kublai Khan told AFP, “from a historical standpoint 20 percent of the film was actual history and 80 percent fiction.”
Lack of research by Netflix
The researcher said that the story of Ariq Boke, who held the throne for a short period after the death of his father, but lost in the wake of subsequent civil war was full of fictions. Also, the plot where Kublai and Ariq Boke took on one another in a bloody death in front of their soldiers was all fiction. It is true that both had their differences, and Ariq tried to capture the throne but latter they both resolved their issues.
Another imagined plot was a concubine-assassin allegedly sent by rival Song dynasty to seduce Kublai and kill his queen. Otgonsereenen said that Mongolian Khans never married or had concubines that were totally strange. Overall, Otgonsereenen feels the research done by the creators to be “”very sloppy.”
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) stated in a press release that the series was shot in Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Italy rather than Mongolia or China. Netflix describes the series as “replete with exotic martial arts, political skull duggery, spectacular battles and sexual intrigue.”
 much-touted show Marco Polo is full of historical errors, says a report from AFP citing Mongolian viewers and experts.){kind=link}