‘The Decameron’ Trailer Teases a Raunchy Historical Lockdown!! Check It Out!!

Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for its new historical comedy, The Decameron, and it’s a hilarious wine-fueled rampage. The eight-episode-long series hails from creator Kathleen Jordan, who was loosely inspired by the 14th-century story collection of the same name. Set in 1348, the series gives us a glimpse into the lives of a few noblemen and women who retreat to their villa, in the face of the bubonic plague.

The trailer showcases the extravagant lives of the nobles, who leave their hometown to wait out the plague. It lays the theme of the series as “without the law of civility, we’re all beasts,” and elaborates on it with hilarious moments of drunk men and women creating chaos all around. Overall, the trailer sets a dark comedic tone for the series with the theme of class struggles in the season of a pandemic.

What Is ‘The Decameron’ Based On?

The Decameron is billed as a “wine-soaked sex romp set in the Italian countryside.” The series follows a handful of nobles, who retreat with their servants, from Florence to a grand villa to wait out the plague with a lavish holiday. However, things take a turn when social rules wear thin and a scramble for survival ensues. By the looks of the trailer, the series will be a fun ride for the audience.

Speaking of the series, Jordan explains the influence of the original story collection, “For each of the characters in the show, I pulled something from the original book character with that name. But as we took it to the writer’s room and it became its own thing, I think our characters ended up being much more dimensional.” As for the period setting, she says production designer, Luca Tranchino, was “extremely diligent about what was historically accurate. We occasionally would bend realities, something as meticulous and specific as they didn’t typically drink out of glasses that were translucent back then. OK, then we need to be able to see that there’s wine in the glass. Overall, though, we tried to be as historically accurate as possible.”

The series cast Amar Chadha-Patel, Leila Farzad, Lou Gala, Karan Gill, and Tony Hale. Further rounding off the cast are Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Zosia Mamet, Douggie McMeekin, Jessica Plummer, and Tanya Reynolds. Fargo fame director Michael Uppendahl helms the series and executive produces alongside Jenji Kohan, Blake McCormick, and Tara Herrmann for Tilted Productions.