Italians behaving badly: a review of The Decameron

Genre Medieval Black comedy Sex comedy

Created by Kathleen Jordan

Inspired by The Decameron (aka L’Umana Commedia) by Giovanni Boccaccio

Showrunner Kathleen Jordan

Cast

Amar Chadha-Patel as Dioneo, Tindaro’s doctor

Leila Farzad as Stratilia, the villa’s cook

Lou Gala as Neifile, Panfilo’s pious Catholic wife

Karan Gill as Panfilo, Neifile’s social-climbing husband

Tony Hale as Sirisco, steward of the villa

Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Misia, Pampinea’s loyal servant

Zosia Mamet as Pampinea, a spoiled noble, arranged to be married to the owner of the villa

Douggie McMeekin as Tindaro, a wealthy hypochondriac

Jessica Plummer as Filomena, a spoiled noble who has lost her entire family to the plague

Tanya Reynolds as Licisca, Filomena’s servant

Recurring

Alfredo Pea as Calandrino, a servant at the villa

Giampiero de Concilio as Andreoli, a messenger

Aston Wray as Jacopo, Stratilia’s son

Dustin Demri-Burns as Arriguccio, a friend of Sirisco

Fares Fares as Ruggiero, a cousin of the viscount

Tazmyn-May Gebbett as Parmena, Misia’s love

Reis Daniel as Stecchi, Ruggiero’s friend

Logan Wong as Bruno, Ruggiero’s friend

Davy Eduard King as Leonardo, Pampinea’s betrothed

Rudynskyi Oleksandr [uk] as Ailes Bendit

Music by Ruth Barrett

Country of origin United States Original languages English & Italian

No. of series 1 No. of episodes 8

Production

Executive producers Kathleen Jordan Jenji Kohan Blake McCormick Tara Herrmann

Production location Italy

Production companies American Sugarcube Tilted Productions

Network Netflix Release July 25, 2024

The year 1348 couldn’t have been much fun in the five princely states that made up most of what’s now northern Italy. The church and nobility were fantastically corrupt, the states were constantly feuding, and that occasionally would bubble up to pitched battles. And just because the joy never ends, the Black Plague was in full rampage.

So a comedy set in that time and locale might be expected to be a bit bawdy and a bit dark.

A disparate group of people flee convulsing, diseased Florence to the imagined safety of a large garden estate in the country. However, the owner of the estate isn’t there to greet them, having buboed his way into an early grave a day or so earlier. The guests, both invited and not, start conspiring to take control of the estate.

The Decameron is about as black as it gets, complete with some nice steamy sex scenes. Privation, constant death, endless terror and dread tend to make people very horny, a point made right in the opening credits when a vast herd of animated rats create the opening splash pages and winds up with one very sick rat keeling over dead whilst right next to it, two other rats copulate furiously.

Did I mention that The Decameron was a comedy? It’s extremely funny, with needle sharp wit and a terrifying sense of satire. The plot is complicated, starting out as a slamming-door comedy with an edge (we learn very quickly that nobles are not very nice people, and tend to be an amusing blend of nihilism and amorality) but as it goes along and power struggles and deception pile up, it gets darker…and darker…and darker. You’ll find yourself cackling with glee over situations that in real life would scar you.

The acting is perfect. It’s a comedy period piece, so you should expect a certain amount of mugging. La Commedia wasn’t exactly noted for its thespian restraint, and neither is The Decameron. But it’s perfect for the tone this show wants to set. Truly an ensemble piece, the entire cast pitches in with considerable glee. You quickly form opinions on all the main characters, and have those opinions revised and reinforced in a hilarious emotional kaleidoscope. Keep an eye on Pampinea’s mousy little servant girl, Misia (Saoirse-Monica Jackson). She’s full of blockbuster surprises, especially to Pampinea (Zosia Mamet). All the characters are fully realized, if not exactly lovable.

This uproarious comedy is now on Netflix.