Summary
Created for Netflix by Kathleen Jordan, all eight episodes ofThe Decameronare currently available to watch on the streaming service. It is loosely inspired by the 14th-century collection of the same name and set in Florence during the bubonic plague. The series takes a unique approach to the time period, telling a character-driven story of survival through a comedic lens.
The Decameronstars Amar Chadha-Patel, Leila Farzad, Lou Gala, Karan Gill,Tony Hale, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Zosia Mamet, Douggie McMeekin, Jessica Plummer, and Tanya Reynolds. Mamet and Jackson’s characters, Pampinea and Misia,display a co-dependent relationship, but the actors believe that their dynamic is a crucial aspect of the season. They stress the importance of exploring female friendships and share how fulfilling it is to craft a storyline that viewers can relate to.
The Decameron Season 2: Will It Happen? Everything We Know
Netflix’s cheeky dark comedy The Decameron spoofs class divisions in the 14th century, but will the apocryphal series return for a second season?
Screen Rantinterviewed Mamet and Jackson about their characters' relationship inThe Decameronand what makes thedark comedy stand outwithin the genre.
Pampinea and Misia’s Relationship Is The True Love Story Of The Decameron In The Eyes Of The Actors
Screen Rant: Pampinea has a hard exterior, but people always have more than what meets the surface. Did you find her to be creatively fulfilling in a way that was different from your other roles?
Zosia Mamet: Definitely. I don’t think I’ve ever played a character that was quite as extreme as she was. I’ve played quite a few characters who are battling a deep insecurity, but I think hers was at a totally different level, specifically, given the circumstances she’s surrounded by. Being a 28-year-old unwed woman was basically akin to a death sentence, so I think her level of anxiety is at such an extreme survival high. I found it incredibly fulfilling to play that, but I’ve been lucky to explore the relationship of female friendship a lot.
Saoirse and I talk about this a lot, that there were various different romantic mashups throughout the characters, but we felt sort of like the relationship between Pampinea and Misia was the greatest love story of the season. Saoirse said something earlier in the day that I thought was so beautiful—the worst her heart has ever been broken is by a friend. I think, specifically, female friendships can really shatter youm and getting to play the dynamic of their love story, their co-dependency and getting to do that across from someone like Saoirse, who is just the most incredible actor and human—every day getting to work with her was a true joy.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson: It was just such a joy. It comes from such a great place, and it’s definitely something to take going forward. To handle such a sensitive topic that I think a lot of women are going to relate to, watching that sort of gaslighting and that manic control and emotional manipulation. To cast someone like Zosia, who has such a great heart and that is so talented, and nearly has this merciless, but extraordinarily charismatic performance, it’s going to be so satisfying for the audience to watch because that’s what it feels like when it happens to you.
The Decameron Offers A World That Is “Truly Singular”
Going off what you were saying, these characters are obviously very dependent on one another. Saoirse, who do you feel Misia is outside of Pampinea?
Saoirse-Monica Jackson: I feel like we leave her in a place where she’s just about to figure that out. I think that at her true core, she’s efficient and wistful and probably a big thinker. I think that she’s a “stare at the stars” sort of girl. She’s got a lot of love to give. I think that’s how she finds herself in that position because she is so loving and is so caring, and that is manipulated and taken advantage of.
What is it aboutThe Decameronthat differentiates it from other dark comedies? What does this show offer that you don’t see on television?
Zosia Mamet: Saoirse has said this a lot throughout our press, and I think it’s very true that we are in a day and age where I think people are very afraid to take chances. I think it’s really incredibly hard to get something made now, whether it be film or television, and so we’re sort of looking back a lot in order to attempt to play it safe and maybe recreate things that have already been made in a slightly different way, but not entirely.
I think truly original film and television is, sadly, a little hard to come by, because it’s scarier to step out into telling a story or creating characters that are new and different. Kathleen has really created a world that is truly singular, and I think that that is a really unique thing right now. I think the character she created, the world she created, and the way that she’s telling this story is wholly original.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson: Yeah. It became quite an interesting time as well. I’m just thinking that, when you look back, we finished just as the strikes were starting. I think The Decameron really is a true depiction of “trust your writers.” You’ve employed your writers to write, so let the writers write.
About The Decameron
You are cordially invited to a wine-soaked sex romp set in the Italian countryside. The Decameron is a soapy dark comedy that examines the all-too-timely theme of class struggles in the season of a pandemic. In the year 1348, the Black Death strikes hard in the city of Florence, and a handful of nobles retreat with their servants to a grand villa to wait out the plague with a lavish holiday. But as social rules wear thin, a scramble for survival ensues, brought to life by a cast of characters both cunning and outrageous.
Source:Screen Rant Plus
The Decameron
In 1348 Italy, a group of nobles and their servants seek refuge in a grand villa from the bubonic plague. As they attempt to wait out the pandemic, their interactions reveal class tensions and personal secrets. The show blends dark comedy with historical drama, examining survival and societal divides in a crisis.
