‘The Decameron’ Cast on Making Netflix’s Black Death-Set “Wine-Soaked Sex Romp”

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Netflix‘s latest dark comedy The Decameron answers the question: How would a group of wealthy people, isolated from the rest of the world due to a pandemic, act? If that premise is sounding eerily relevant to the last few years, it’s no coincidence.

Showrunner Kathleen Jordan was inspired by what the world had experienced during the early days of COVID-19, and by “the concept of examining the slice of life moment of a pandemic.” Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s short story collection set during the Black Death, Jordan found a way to tell this story to a modern audience.

A jam-packed ensemble cast — including Tony Hale, Zosia Mamet, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Jessica Plummer and Tanya Reynolds — comes together in an Italian villa in an attempt to wait out the plague. While the concept itself doesn’t immediately read comedy, through Jordan’s unique tone and the acting, the show manages to pack in plenty of laughs, while hitting some dark moments along the way.

“I loved how prevalent the comedy, and the darkness, were all at once in this sort of perfectly formed wholesome piece, because I think it’s very hard to find that balance sometimes of the darkness and the light all in one,” Mamet says of why she was drawn to the project.

Mamet’s co-star Jackson, whom she acts alongside throughout most of the series, felt similarly. “I think it was sort of handled in its own genre. I felt like it bent genres a lot,” she says.

Jessica Plummer as Filomena and Tanya Reynolds as Licisca in The Decameron.

Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix

Throughout the series, several characters spend time individually with one another, however, there are mainstay pairings throughout. Some of the show’s most dynamic relationships are that of noble person and servant, with Mamet pairing up with Jackson and Plummer pairing up with Reynolds.

For Reynolds, who plays Licisca, and Plummer, who plays Filomena, the pair felt the connection was instant. “It was pretty organic, the chemistry, wasn’t it?” Reynolds asks Plummer, who agrees. “I feel like we just were our characters,” she adds. Plummer cheekily jokes: “We just were just born to play these roles.”

Mamet, who plays Pampinea, and Jackson, who plays her loyal servant Misia, had similar a similar experience in creating their characters with one another. “It doesn’t always happen that way,” Mamet says of her instant connection with Jackson. “Sometimes more effort does need to go into manifesting the relationship.”

“I think we just lucked out and we immediately fell in love with each other when we met on set our very first day,” she continues, adding that Jackson is an “exceptional actor” and a “wonderful human.” The actress explains that they didn’t need too much prep because they were able to “play” once the cameras were rolling.

Zosia Mamet as Pampinea and Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Misia in The Decameron.

Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix

Jackson, agreeing with Mamet, says it was a joy to work together. “Zosia is so talented and has such a wide range of skills when it comes to acting that it’s just so fun to see how the scene’s going to play out,” she says.

“It’s so nice to be led in those scenes,” Jackson continues. “Often she’s [Mamet] leading the narrative and it’s such a joy to sort of go on that journey and emotional journey together.”

For Hale, The Decameron offers his character, Sirisco, the group’s de facto leader, a series arc that the actor says he appreciated. “I think many times with the comic actors, they can kind of get stuck,” Hale explains. “I had such a great time in Veep and Arrested [Development], but there was really no… Gary kind of stayed in emasculated state as a buzzer, which was fun, but it was just nice to see a full circle, and Sirisco to develop and find out his confidence, his courage, his strength.”

A major throughline is the revelation of secrets. Every character has at least one secret, some more drastic than others, but Hale often finds himself at the center of most of these storylines throughout the series.

“Every cast member had a secret, every character, and that is just gold,” Hale says. “When you know a secret, and you’re talking to somebody else who has their secret; the audience knows the secrets, but we don’t… There’s just nothing funner than to perform in that tension. That is just a blast.”

Hale’s character of Sirisco may bring in some laughs, but the actor is able to have some truly touching and sentimental moments throughout the series, saying he craves both. “One thing of many things in the show that I so appreciate is something like a pandemic brings out the worst of humanity and the best of humanity,” Hale explains. “And one person is not all good or all bad.”

The Decameron is now streaming on Netflix.