‘The Decameron’ Review: Black Comedy About the Black Death Is Bingeable But Messy

The Decameron, a black comedy helmed by creator and showrunner Kathleen Jordan, has a lot of potential. The series is set during Florence’s bubonic plague of 1348 and features a likable cast of comedic actors, including Tony Hale, Zosia Mamet, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Tanya Reynolds and Jessica Plummer. But the show never figures out its tone, confusingly veering between stylistic choices that never quite add up to something that fully satisfies the viewer. It’s purportedly a comedy, but many episodes clock in at nearly an hour, and the series’ unsexy obsession with sex feels like something written by a group of frat boys on a trip to Amsterdam.

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