‘The Decameron’ Review: Netflix Retells Bocaccio’s Epic

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 limited series created by Kathleen Jordan (“Teenage Bounty Hunters”) for Netflix, was — by its own press materials’ admission — “very loosely inspired” by “The Decameron” as published in the 1300s. Gone is the storytelling structure, with each guest spinning tales to pass the time, á la “The Canterbury Tales” or “One Thousand and One Nights.” Jordan’s version focuses entirely on the Florentine aristocrats and long-suffering servants cooped up in a villa, each with their own ulterior motives. In that sense, it recalls “The White Lotus,” the current high water mark for confinement-inspired art (COVID edition). 

While “The Decameron” may not reach the heights of Mike White’s contingency plan turned HBO crown jewel, the series is a tartly funny showcase for a uniformly excellent ensemble. (Executive producer Jenji Kohan, of “Orange Is the New Black,” knows a thing or two about sprawling casts funneled into a single location.) As the days tick by and desperation mounts, the forced politeness of strangers forced to share space and potentially toxic air gives way to mounting chaos. Fortunately, we’re far enough removed from lockdown to appreciate the setup as a vessel for black comedy, not just a reminder of what we’d rather forget.

The roster of “The Decameron” runs the gamut from established comic veterans to potential breakouts. Between “Arrested Development” and “Veep,” Tony Hale has the resumé to serve as master of ceremonies. His Sirisco is the villa’s steward, and in the mysterious absence of his employer, it’s his job to put the newcomers at ease, despite the raging pestilence outside. These outsiders include Pampinea (Zosia Mamet), a self-perceived old maid at 28 who’s eager to meet her betrothed, the mansion’s missing owner, and her maid Misia (Saoirse-Monica Jackson, of “Derry Girls”), who endures indignities like fetching Pampinea’s “morning cheese.”

Before long, Pampinea decides to simply forgo the groom altogether and fake a status-securing marriage. She’s far from the only imposter in attendance. Unlike the obedient Misia, the servant Licisca (Tanya Reynolds of “Sex Education”) takes matters into her own hands, shoving her bratty boss Filomena (Jessica Plummer) off a bridge and assuming her identity. Panfilo (Karan Gill) is authentically of the upper crust, but his family has fallen from grace. His ultra-pious wife Niefile (Lou Gala) has also sworn herself to celibacy, though Panfilo has private reasons not to mind. Finally, quack doctor Dioneo (Amar Chadha-Patel) has his hypochondriac patient Tindaro (Douggie McMeekin) in the palm of his hand — which doesn’t mean he’s helping Tindaro feel better.

Rivalries, reversals and flirtations soon start to unfold, many of them across class lines. Mamet is glass-shatteringly shrill as the insecure, off-putting Pampinea, while McMeekin has a Corden-esque knack for playing the bumbling fool. At least some of those sheltering in place earn our sympathy: both Reynolds’ Licisca and Sirisco’s deputy Stratilia (Leila Farzad) claw back some agency while speaking truth to power. “Currently, you’re taking up all the fear,” Licisca tells a panicking Filomena. “There’s none left for me.” It’s a succinct take on emotional labor in a sea of ribald jokes.

Alongside “The Great,” “Bridgerton,” the recent “Lady Jane” and others, “The Decameron” belongs to the shockingly prolific class of anachronistic historical series that’s taken over TV as of late. “The Decameron” shot on location outside Rome, and keeps the Italian names, but otherwise makes few pretenses to accuracy. Thankfully, the show also declines to stress its parallels with our more recent brush with germ-related isolation. The themes it traffics in — social hierarchy, status anxiety, lust — are evergreen enough to stand on their own. The group assembled at the villa may face external threats from roving bandits, but their escalating hysteria means the seeds of their downfall are sown from within. 

All eight episodes of “The Decameron” are now available to stream on Netflix.