Is The Decameron based on a true story? The curious origin of Netlix hit explained

The Decameron will soon be ready to watch with subscribers already questioning the comedy-drama’s origins.

Netflix is going to be releasing The Decameron, a historic dramedy in full on Thursday, July 25, with an all-star cast featuring EastEnders, Sex Education and Derry Girls alumni.

Set in the 14th Century, the eight-part show sees a group of nobles and servants get up to no good in a stunning villa after retreating there to escape the Black Death that’s spreading through Italy.

With the wait almost over until the series drops, many are curious to know more about where the plot of The Decameron came from.

Is The Decameron based on a true story? 

While the events surrounding The Decameron are true, given that the Black Death killed thousands when it reached Italy in 1347, the actual story of the Netflix series isn’t based on real life.

Instead, the comedy-drama is loosely based on the book of the same name, a collection of short stories about an outbreak of bubonic plague in Florence, by Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio.

In the book, 10 Florentines flee to the countryside in a bid to escape the Black Death and entertain themselves by telling stories.

According to Smithsonian, each person is also crowned king or queen for a day and in charge of selecting a topic for that day’s stories, “whether it be doomed love affairs, trickery or acts of generosity”.

The original text focuses on the noble men and women but the Netflix show delves into a mix of both nobles and servants who tell their tales.

So while characters like Pampinea (played by Zosia Mamet) and Panfilo (Karan Gill) feature heavily in Boccaccio’s book, servants Licisca (Tanya Reynolds) and Sirisco (Tony Hale) are minor characters.

And while The Decameron is an adaptation of the Italian’s work, it doesn’t exactly stick to the original text.

Showrunner Kathleen Jordan stated to The Times: “I think an Italian medievalist will be disappointed if they come to this show expecting to see their favorite Decameron stories depicted.”

So how will the nobles and servants’ stories play out as the line between the upper and lower classes begin to blur?

The Decameron premieres on Thursday, July 25, on Netflix.