Netflix has released a saucy teaser trailer (see below) for a new dark comedy called The Decameron that looks like an episode of Love Island set in the 14th century – and if it’s anything like the best Netflix show Bridgerton, this might mean we have a new hit on our hands.
The new show, which lands on the world’s best streaming service on July 25, examines the class struggles during a pandemic as a group of misfits try to survive the bubonic plague in 1348 Florence.
The eight-episode series has a star-studded cast, including Tony Hale (Arrested Development), Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant), Saoirse Monica-Jackson (Derry Girls) and Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education).
Confirming the parallels that the new series has to one of today’s most popular reality dating shows, Jessica Plummer (The Girl Before), who plays noble Filomena, told Netflix Tudum: “Think, like, Love Island, but back in the day. A lot of drama, a lot of sex, a lot of, yeah, craziness.”
The Decameron – what we know so far
The teaser trailer invites you to “the party of the 14th century” as the rich revellers indulge themselves at Villa Santa while New Order’s Blue Monday plays over their raunchy antics. However, the fun soon comes to an end when partygoers start to fall ill and morals are thrown out of the window.
The Decameron is loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s short story collection of the same name, which tells the story of a group of nobles and their servants sheltering from the Black Death in the opulent Villa Santa outside Florence where they tell each other funny and sinful stories to pass the time.
Although the Netflix series follows a similar plot, there’s a twist involved, which Netflix Tudum explains in the premise: “The series has a similar premise, but with a twist right out of Lord of the Flies – as time goes on and social rules wear thin, the orgy of riches and liquor collapses into a struggle for survival. Wealthy citizens escaping a plague by engaging in a lavish and insular display of wealth? Doesn’t sound like this could be relevant at all!”