Netflix plans season 3 of Lilyhammer, new show based on Marco Polo

Netflix's exclusive content push is rolling on, starting with news that Lilyhammer will return for a third season later this year. As usual Netflix hasn't released viewer numbers or statistics, but season two's eight episodes have apparently done well enough in a month to justify another go-round -- a good sign for the series that kicked off the service's focus on fresh content. This weekend, the streaming video service also netted its first Golden Globe Award as Robin Wright won for her part in House of Cards, and Netflix co-hosted an awards party with The Weinstein Company. The surprise however, is that the two had more to celebrate than their recent deal that will bring TWC movies exclusively to Netflix during their pay-TV window, starting in 2016. They're also working on a new TV series, focused on "the epic adventures of Marco Polo, a kinetic tale of high politics, masterful manipulation and deadly warfare among clashing empires."

Due later this year, it joins other selections like HoC season two and Orange is the New Black season two on Netflix's slate of originals and will arrive at around the same time as the Wachowski-backed sci-fi series Sense8. As we've come to expect from such series, the nine-chapter Marco Polo production has a number of experienced names attached. That includes executive producer and creator John Fusco of Young Guns and Young Guns II fame, plus executive producer/director Dan Minahan, who not only carries credits from Game of Thrones and True Blood for HBO, but also wrote/directed one of our current Netflix streaming favorites, Series 7: The Contenders. Placed in 13th century China amid "a world replete with astonishing martial arts, sexual intrigue, political skullduggery and spectacular battles" this project is likely aimed directly towards fans of HBO's adult-themed hits and recent Starz history-based efforts like DaVinci's Demons and Spartacus.