Netflix’s ‘The Decameron’ Is a Shrewdly Funny Retelling of Bocaccio’s Epic: TV Review
Netflix special series ‘The Decaderon” is a smartly funny version of Bocaccio’s epic anthology.
By Alison Herman
Jul 24, 2024 05:39 PM
Before there were single-location concept shows or Zoom table reads, there was the original pandemic-adjacent entertainment: Bocaccio’s “ The Decameron ,” the 14th-century anthology framed around a group of Italian nobles sheltering from the Black Plague in the Tuscan countryside. A millennium-old book of short stories may be a deep cut even for our reboot-crazed culture, but there’s a certain logic to bringing “The Decameron” back in the aftermath of another society-spanning disease.
“The Decameron,” the eight-episode series written by Kathleen Jordan (“Teenage Bounty Hunters”) for Netflix it was according to the press materials’ admissionthe show was “very loosely inspired” by “The Decameron” as published in the 1300s. It’s gone is the storytelling structure and each guest spins stories to keep the time going as in “The Canterbury Tales” or “One Thousand and One Nights.” Jordan’s adaptation focuses exclusively on Florentine nobles and their long-suffering servants locked up in a palace and each with its personal motivations. In this way it is reminiscent of “The White Lotus,” the most popular high-water mark for art inspired by confinement (COVID Edition).
Although “The Decameron” may not attain the levels of the Mike White contingency strategy which became the HBO top-rated show however, it is a sly display of a flawless group of actors. (Executive director Jenji Kohan, the creator of “Orange Is the New Black,” is an expert or two about the sprawling casts condensed into one place.) As the days pass and the pressure mounts and the force of strangers who are forced to share space, and possibly polluted air can lead to a growing chaos. Fortunately we’re not far enough from the tight-lipped security to see the set-up as a stage for black comedy, and not only a reminder of things we’d like to not forget.
The cast that makes up “The Decameron” runs the range from veteran comics to breakout stars. From “Arrested Development” and “Veep,” Tony Hale has the experience to act as the master of ceremonies. He’s Sirisco serves as the villa’s chief steward. when there’s no sign of his boss is his responsibility to make sure that the newcomers are at peace, despite the growing disease from the outside. The outsiders are Pampinea (Zosia Mamet) an unassuming old maid aged 28 who’s excited to meet her fiance to the mansion’s owner who has disappeared as well as her housekeeper Misia (Saoirse-Monica Jackson who is from “Derry Girls”), who is subject to humiliation, such as stealing Pampinea’s “morning cheese.”
After a while, Pampinea chooses to skip the groom completely and create the marriage to secure her status. There’s no shortage of person who is a fake. Contrary to the cowardly Misia and her service Licisca (Tanya Reynolds from “Sex Education”) takes things to her own by shoving her manager Filomena (Jessica Plummer) off a bridge before pretending to be her. Panfilo (Karan Gill) is a true member of the upper class however his entire family is falling out of the grace of. His extremely religious partner Niefile (Lou Gala) has also committed that she will never marry, but Panfilo has private motives that aren’t to be thought of. Then, the Quack Doctor Dioneo (Amar Chadha-Patel) is holding the hypochondriac patient Tindaro (Douggie McMeekin) in his palm This does not mean that he’s helping Tindaro to feel better.
Rivalries, reversals and romances quickly begin to unravel with many happening across classes. Mamet is absolutely shrill as Pampinea, an insecure, off-putting character, and McMeekin is a Corden-like talent to play the fool. The actors who are sheltered in their homes are likable as both Reynolds’ Licisca and Sirisco’s deputy Stratilia (Leila Farzad) take back some power as they speak their truth. “Currently, you’re taking up all the fear,” Licisca confronts panicking Filomena. “There’s none left for me.” This is a slick look at emotional labor in the midst of hilarious jokes.
Together with “The Great,” “Bridgerton,” the most recent “Lady Jane” and others, “The Decameron” belongs to the astonishingly prolific group of anachronistic historical shows that’s been dominating TV since recent. “The Decameron” shot on the outside of Rome and uses it’s Italian titles, yet isn’t adamant about accuracy. Thankfully, the show does not draw parallels with our recent encounter with isolation due to germs. The topics it tackles – social class and status anxiety, as well as desire — are timeless sufficient to be able in their own. The people who gather at the villa might encounter threats from outside bands, however their growing anxiety means that the seeds of their demise are planted from within.
The entire eight seasons from “The Decameron” are now available for streaming via Netflix.