Marco Polo Vs Game of Thrones: Why Gay Men Demand More Than Chest & Abs on TV

"Totally nudity, yes, but not frontal," Lorenzo Richelmy says when asked if there will be male full-frontal in Netflix's upcoming Marco Polo. The unknown Italian actor portrays the show's title character in the expensive period drama. He tells ETonline that it won't happen for him or co-star Benedict Wong (Kublai Kahn). "No snakes around," he explains, which we assume is a penis joke.

It may seem like a reductive question--why male actors should have to get naked to get ratings--but it's certainly something to ponder. Especially since it's what made Starz's Spartacus franchise a hit with (gay) male and female audiences and has also been a draw in HBO's hit Game of Thrones adaptation.

Natalie Dormer, who currently stars on GoT, and also exposed herself quite a bit in Showtime's Tudors series--which gave us plenty of Henry Cavill manflesh--recently expressed a need for more parity when it comes to actor's state of undress in front of the camera, tellingThe Daily Beast, "I suppose it's just the rules of broadcast television, isn't it? I think Thrones has been better than your average show with the equality, but they could definitely ramp it up."

Marco Polo seems to be something of a throwback from what we can tell so far. Just look at the way muscled Richelmy is swooning over an Asian actress in the promo photo: It could be straight out off the cover of a pulp romance novel. Although we're sure the stud has more going for him than Fabio. It's such a high stakes gamble, according to a recent New York Times story, with Netflix hoping this series will reach a global audience, perhaps Richelmy defends the, telling ETOnline: "There's always meaning behind it. It's never, 'I just have to fuck.' " Which is more than we can say about those gladiators who never seemed to be worried about all the sand (mixed with murderous blood) on the campy Spartacus.

Benedict Wong, who has a wider girth, so probably isn't expected to disrobe, seems to have a sense of humor about it: "Netflix has read all the algorithms and the data and we have developed Lorenzo's six-pack and also my one-barrel." But he promises plenty of shirtless moments during fight scenes. By now TV execs know that it's not enough to show give us a history lesson: Whether it's murderous Borgias, Roman centurions, or Mongol hordes, audiences want to watch sex along with the wigs and sandals and swordplay.

"We have a responsibility and Game of Thrones doesn't," Richelmy says. "We're telling the untold story of existing people ... And we can show, without CGI, our reality can beat our best imagination."

Marco Polo will be available in full at 12:01 a.m. PT on Friday, Dec. 12. Watch the trailer below: