Netflix’s new period drama The Decameron has just begun shooting at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. The eight-episode series, based on a collection of short stories of the same name written by 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, will be filming in Italy for the next six months. Chasing the success Netflix found with its hit period drama Bridgerton, the popular streaming service ordered the lavish period soap, which takes place in 1348 as the Black Death descends upon Florence.
The brand-new series from Teenage Bounty Hunters creator Kathleen Jordan and executive producer Jenji Kohan (Weeds, Orange Is the New Black) marks one of Netflix’s biggest international productions in recent years, per Variety. The Decameron follows a group of Florentine nobles, along with their servants, as they retreat to a grand villa in the Tuscany countryside to wait out the deadly plague. The story unfurls as their "wine-soaked sex romp" away from the horrors of Bubonic Plague descends into a scramble to survive when the societal rules of the villa wear thin.
Jordan is the creator and showrunner for The Decameron, while also serving as an executive producer alongside Blake McCormick and Tara Herrmann for Tilted Productions. American Horror Story director Michael Uppendahl is set to direct the first four episodes. Given its filming location, many members of the show’s crew are Italian, such as its production designer Luca Tranchino and costume designers Uliva Pizzetti and Oscar-winner Gabriella Pescucci.
As for the cast, the show is filled out by a diverse and exciting group of stars. Zosia Mamet plays Pampinea, the soon-to-be lady of the villa who is hopeful but lacking in self-awareness; Tanya Reynolds is Licisca, an obedient yet unpredictable servant devoted to the family she serves; Saoirse-Monica Jackson will play Misia, Pampinea's codepedent servant; and Karan Gill will play Panfilo, a young man son from a prominent family in Florence.
Amar Chadha-Patel will play Dioneo, a physician who finds himself caught between classes due to his profession. Lou Gala is playing Neifile, the paradoxically god-fearing and highly lustful woman who is transformed by her time at the villa, while Leila Farzad will play Stratilia, a reliable women who serves as the backbone of the Villa Santa. Tony Hale is playing Sirisco, a friendly but bumbling steward, and Jessica Plummer will play Filomena, a spoiled brat who is described as an "oddball" despite the chip on her shoulder. Douggie McMeekin will play rich noble Tindaro.
Stay tuned to Collider for any updates on The Decameron.