Hot off its 31 Primetime Emmy nominations, Netflix has unveiled the premiere date and a set of images for the brand new original series, Marco Polo.  The show is based on Marco Polo’s exploits in Kublai Khan’s court in China and will feature newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy as the title character and The Man with the Iron FistsZhu Zhu as Kokachin, Marco Polo’s love interest.  Kon-Tiki’s Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg directed the first two episodes and executive produce the season alongside show creator John Fusco as well as Dan Minahan and Harvey Weinstein.

Hit the jump to check out the first five Marco Polo images.  All ten episodes will debut on Netflix on December 12th at 12:01am PST.  The show also stars Joan Chen, Benedict Wong, Remy Hii, Olivia Cheng, Claudia Kim, Uli Latukefu and Tom Wu.

Here’s the official description of Marco Polo:

In a world replete with greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry, “Marco Polo” is based on the famed explorer’s adventures in Kublai Khan’s court in 13th century China. The show stars Italian newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy as 'Marco.' Best known for her role in The Wachowski’s "Cloud Atlas," the Beijing-born Zhu Zhu plays Marco’s love interest ‘Kokachin.’  Joan Chen ("Twin Peaks") and Benedict Wong ("Prometheus") also star in the show’s eclectic global cast as Empress Chabi and Kublai Khan.

Rounding out "Marco Polo's" global cast of characters will be Remy Hii as ‘Prince Jingim,’ Olivia Cheng as ‘Mei Lin,’ Claudia Kim as ‘Khutulun,” Uli Latukefu as ‘Byamba,’ Chin Han as ‘Jia Sidao,’ and Tom Wu as ‘Hundred Eyes.’

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Image via Netflix

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Image via Netflix

Netflix Marco Polo Images