'The Decameron' is All About 14th Century Black Death Era Teen Angst

After disappearing from the radar for several months, Netflix has released the first look images from its long-awaited foray into 14th-century Italy, The Decameron. Initially greenlit in August 2022, the series is "inspired by" the contemporaneously published short-story collection of the same name by Giovanni Boccaccio, and was billed at the time as "soapy period drama" in the mold of Bridgerton with lots of young people in period costume acting like teenagers do when the hormones kick in and the rule get kicked out. However, since then, most of the announcements for it have been under the "Netflix is a Joke" banner, which suggests the streaming service sees it more as a comedy than a drama.

The first look images definitely suggest that showrunner and series creator Kathleen Jordan (the brilliant mind behind the critically adored and sadly canceled Teenage Bounty Hunters) is leaning into the humor to counter the setting from Boccaccio's original manuscript. Believed to date from ~1350 CE (or thereabouts), The Decameron contains one hundred stories told by ten people (seven women, three men) over ten days as they huddle in a country villa outside the city of Florence, desperately trying to escape the Black Death. Their lives range from servant class to nobly bred, and their stories range from silly to witty to erotic, causing them to be banned by the church for periods of time. However, they survived in part due to being selected by 19th-century scholars as being "culturally important," in that it gives a window into an era that would otherwise have been lost.

Though the series is set in Italy, and filmed in and around Rome, the cast is international, with the series starring two well-known British actors: Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls) and Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education).

Here’s the official synopsis, via Netflix:

The Decameron is a soapy period dramedy that aims to examine the timely themes of class systems, power struggles, and survival in a time of pandemic, brought to life by an ensemble of characters both ridiculous and ill-fated. 

Set in 1348, the Black Death strikes hard in the city of Florence. A handful of nobles are invited to retreat with their servants to a grand villa in the Italian countryside and wait out the pestilence with a lavish holiday. But as social rules wear thin, what starts as a wine-soaked sex romp in the hills of Tuscany descends into an all-out scramble for survival.

Reynolds and Jackson co-star alongside Zosia Mamet (Dickinson) and Jessica Plummer (The Girl Before). The rest of the ensemble cast includes Amar Chadha-Patel (The Wheel of Time), Lou Gala (Julia), Karan Gill (Flesh & Blood), Douggie McMeekin (Harlots), Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie), and Tony Hale (Drunk History). 

Here's a rundown of their characters:

• Reynolds plays Licisca: An obedient yet unpredictable servant with a heart of bronze. Licisca’s life has been defined by her hard work, thick skin, and devotion to the family she serves... Until now.
• Plummer plays Filomena: A spoiled oddball with a chip on her shoulder and the last surviving child of her noble family. 
• Jackson plays Misia: The codependent servant of Pampinea. Misia adores her demanding master and derives much self-worth from pleasing her.
• Mamet plays Pampinea: A soon-to-be lady of the villa. Pampinea is full of hope and absolutely lacking in self-awareness. Despite her obsession with her high station, Pampinea’s groomed exterior conceals a deep loneliness and insecurity.
• Chadha-Patel plays Dioneo: A cocksure physician. His profession puts him in the frustrating limbo between the upper and lower classes.
• Gala plays Neifile: A god-fearing and highly libidinous lady. Neifile is a woman of paradoxes. Her time spent at the villa proves deeply transformative.
• Gill plays Panfilo: A charming and cunning nobleman. Panfilo is the son of a prominent political family in Florence and a formidable presence at the villa.
• McMeekin plays Tindaro: A rich noble from a prominent family. Tindaro’s perfect pedigree as an eligible bachelor is undermined by his insufferable attitude, rampant hypochondria, and blunt disdain for women.
• Farzad plays Stratilia: Intuitive, wise, steady. Stratilia is the stalwart backbone of Villa Santa. She works hard to stay out of the fray and protect her secrets.
• Hale plays Sirisco: The affable, ill-prepared, eager-to-please steward of Villa Santa.

Jordan, who created the series and serves as showrunner, is also the lead writer on the series. Other writers on the series include James Rogers III, Anthony Natoli, Megan King Kelly, Marie Hanhnhon Nguyen, Zoe Jarman, and Stephen Unckles. Mike Uppendahl (Ratched) is the lead director, helming four out of the eight installments, with Andrew DeYoung and Anya Adams splitting helming duties across the other four. 

Jordan also executive produces The Decameron with Jenji Kohan (Orange is the New Black), Blake McCormick (Mad Men), and Tara Herrmann. Tilted Productions produces the series for Netflix.

The Decameron Season 1 is slated to arrive on Netflix, with all episodes sometime in July 2024.