The Decameron Stars Tanya Reynolds & Jessica Plummer Talk Complex Characters And Relationships

Summary Netflix's The Decameron is a witty dark comedy set in 1348, blending historical drama with dark humor.

Reynolds and Plummer play complex characters whose dynamic evolves throughout the series.

The show explores class struggles and personal secrets as nobles and servants navigate the bubonic plague.

Currently available to stream on Netflix, The Decameron stars Amar Chadha-Patel, Leila Farzad, Lou Gala, Karan Gill, Tony Hale, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Zosia Mamet, Douggie McMeekin, Jessica Plummer, and Tanya Reynolds. The eight-episode series is set in 1348 and follows a group of nobles seeking refuge from the pandemic plaguing Florence. Although it is loosely inspired by the 14th-century story collection of the same name, The Decameron takes creative liberty with its plotlines and presents as a dark comedy.

Reynolds plays Licisca, who was born into servitude, while Plummer portrays Filomena, a member of the noble family Licisca works for. Both actors admit that the women do not have a healthy relationship at the start of the series, likely due to Eduardo's fatherly affection for his servant. However, Reynolds shares that their dynamic changes as the season plays out, and Licisca begins to grow into herself.

Related The Decameron Season 2: Will It Happen? Everything We Know Netflix's cheeky dark comedy The Decameron spoofs class divisions in the 14th century, but will the apocryphal series return for a second season?

Screen Rant chats with Reynolds and Plummer about what drew them to The Decameron, understanding their characters' true selves, and Licisca's complicated relationship with Filomena.

Plummer Worked Backwards When Breaking Down Her Character In The Decameron

Image via Netflix

Screen Rant: What drew you each to The Decameron and made you want to get involved in the series?

Tanya Reynolds: The script is just so brilliantly funny. It's so clever. Kathleen, who wrote the script, has such a unique voice. She's such a skilled writer. I thought it was really unique. I thought it was unlike anything I'd read or seen. It's rare to have an ensemble of ten characters where every single character is so well-rounded and so juicy and complicated. It was like an actor's catnip. Jessica Plummer: I agree. That's my answer. That's literally my answer. Definitely the script. I found out that I was going to be doing the job, I knew Tanya was doing it, but then finding out the rest of the cost involved, it was just like, "Yeah. This is gonna be special."

Speaking of characters being juicy and complicated, I feel like that's a great way to describe both of yours. Jessica, Filomena presents herself in a way that’s not quite representative of who she truly is. As an actor, how you do go about peeling back those layers to find who your character is at her core?

Jessica Plummer: Just thinking about that first, and then working backwards, figuring out who she really is. Where are we at the end, and how do we get there? That's how I personally like to do it, because that's going to be the thing that grounds my whole performance. That's the thing that she's driving towards constantly, and then filling it on top with all the other things. Who she pretends to be to herself, who she pretends to be to people close to her, people that are strangers, etc. As Tanya mentioned, all of our characters are so well-rounded. It was a really fun one to explore and play. I'd never done a comedy before, so it was an incredible experience. We had the best six months.

Licisca Has Never Experienced Life Outside Of Servitude In The Decameron

Image via Netflix

Tanya, your character was born into servitude, but she has bonded with members of the family she works for. What can you share about her relationships and her time in that household?

Tanya Reynolds: Like you said, she was born into servitude. She has been a servant her whole life. She doesn't really know anything different. She has a lot of love for Eduardo, who's the head of the household, who treats her really kindly. He probably treats her with the most respect out of any of the rest of the family. Filomena does not treat her with much respect. Licisca and Filomena do not have the best relationship. Filomena is not the best boss in the world. But that changes pretty quickly when Licisca decides enough is enough. She decides she's not going to be a servant anymore, and she's going to do whatever the hell she wants.

If you only had one word to describe this series to someone, what would it be?

Jessica Plummer: That is really tricky. Unique. Tanya Reynolds: Hilarious. Jessica Plummer: Layered. That's two.

About The Decameron

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You are cordially invited to a wine-soaked sex romp set in the Italian countryside. The Decameron is a soapy dark comedy that examines the all-too-timely theme of class struggles in the season of a pandemic. In the year 1348, the Black Death strikes hard in the city of Florence, and a handful of nobles retreat with their servants to a grand villa to wait out the plague with a lavish holiday. But as social rules wear thin, a scramble for survival ensues, brought to life by a cast of characters both cunning and outrageous.

Check out our other interviews with The Decameron cast:

All episodes of The Decameron are currently available to stream on Netflix.

Source: Screen Rant Plus