‘The DeCameron’ 2024 Cast And Character Guide

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Netflix’s The DeCameron is a dark comedy coupled with spoof elements that gives the audience a peek into the world of the nobles and aristocrats who lived in Italy during the deadly bubonic plague that engulfed a large part of the European continent. There are many characters in the show who are nobles who have never faced such a situation all their lives; they were protected from the outside world. There are also the servants and maids who shadow these nobles and get to know them on a personal level. These quirky characters make up the show, and as they come together to stay at a villa, it brings up many issues and conundrums.

Spoilers Ahead


Dioneo

Amar Chadha-Patel, as doctor Dioneo, is a physician to Lord Tindaro. As a person, he is aware of his dashingly good looks and is surrounded by admirers of his physical attributes rather than his skills as a doctor. The man constantly shadows Lord Tindaro and makes him eat countless herbs and medicines as he claims Tindaro is sick and needs constant care. Dioneo center of attention at Villa Santa, as Lady Neifile and her husband Panfilo are attracted to him. 

Dioneo is attracted to Lady Filomena, who, according to him, is very different from the usual aristocratic women he has met. To his displeasure, Filomena is not just leading Lord Tindaro on but also sleeping with him at the same time. The man, for the first time, has fallen in love with a woman, and it is difficult for him to get his head around the fact that she might not want him. Dioneo is known for taking his energy very seriously, and he loves to give off a sexual vibe to women. Though this does not work on Filomena to his surprise, he goes out of his way to make her feel special. It will be interesting to see if Lady Filomena will ever reciprocate his feelings.


Tindaro

Douggie McMeekin as Lord Tindaro is an eccentric character and is the only man in his family to have survived the plague. As a nobleman, he is used to having servants around him catering to his needs. With everyone dead, thanks to a disease, only he and Doctor Dioneo have survived and run off to Villa Santa on receiving the wedding invite. Tindaro, despite being a survivor, does not have an ounce of gratitude in him as he constantly berates his doctor, Dioneo. The man is also a sexist who has delusional notions of women. It could be attributed to his insecurity, as he does not feel good about himself. Tindaro’s notion of love and courting is old school but he chooses to love someone for whom none of his stature would accept, but he does it because he is finally in love. 


Filomena

Jessica Plummer, as Lady Filomena of the house Eduardo in Florence, Italy, is a bratty aristocratic woman who has not come to terms with the reality of the situation in the city she is raised in. Her father is also on his deathbed, and she has been detached from her family since a young age, she never feels the pain of losing a loved one. Filomena can’t wait to head to Villa Santa as she has been invited for the wedding of her cousin, Viscount Leonardo. 

Lady Filomena’s maid is Licisca, who is far more grounded in the situation and emotionally attached to the home she serves. As Filomena drags Licisca to Villa Santa, the former’s bad behavior forces her servant to throw her off the bridge. Filomena survives the fall and reaches Villa Santa to learn Licisca has taken her place, and she will be the maid for some time. It is her life in the kitchen with the other maids and cooks of Villa Santa that brings her close to the reality of the situation. She at times forgets she is not a lady anymore and will have to behave like how maids and other servants are trained. It gives her a whole new perspective on how she could be a better employer if she ever gets to leave Villa Santa. 


Licisca

Tanya Reynolds, the famed actor from Sex Education, is in The DeCameron as a maid Licisca who stands up for herself and the people she likes. Even though she has been working for Filomena for a long time, she never stops herself from being an honest critic of her lady’s selfish behavior. Her patience is further tested on the way to Villa Santa. She does not think twice before throwing Filomena off the bridge into the water below; Licisca also does not hesitate before taking up the identity of her lady. 

Licisca is surprised to find herself becoming the center of attention for the nobles and the others who see her as someone who is not as prudish as the other aristocrats. Doctor Dioneo, the most handsome man, is unable to keep himself away from Licisca. She has the opportunity to explore her body and mind quite well during her stay at the villa. Sadly, things go south for most of them during their stay at the villa as many unwanted guests are invited, and it exposes her identity. 


Pampinea

Zosia Mamet as Pampinea is probably one of the good actors on the show. Pampinea is betrothed to marry the Viscount Leonardo, and so far she has painted a large imaginary world for herself in which she is a rich viscountess who has a lot of power. Pampinea is initially not informed of Leonardo’s death, and even when that information is divulged, the woman becomes delusional and makes up stories of her marriage and her pregnancy to everyone at the villa. In reality, she has been sleeping with the Villa Santa’s steward, Sirisco, and she sees a lot of Leonardo in him. Since Pampinea is way beyond marriageable age in that era, her only way to maintain power and relevance is to pretend to remain married to the rich aristocrat and claim pregnancy to assert her relevancy. Things go south between her and her lover, Sirisco, as she refuses to acknowledge him. Her refusal to give up the power and not abandon the world of imagination and delusion forces Sirisco to take drastic steps. 


Sirisco

The American actor Tony Hale as Sirisco is the steward at Villa Santa of Viscount Leonardo. He is the only person who knows his master has died of the plague. He will have to, however, provide shelter to everyone that has been invited to the wedding of Lady Pampinea. It is on the arrival of Pampinea that things change for Sirisco, as the woman begins to pretend to be the lady of the villa and makes things slightly impossible for him. Even though Sirisco becomes Pampinea’s lover, she refuses to acknowledge him outside of her bedroom, which enrages him and forces him to take drastic steps to undermine her power over the villa. Sirisco takes it upon himself to save the legacy of Leonardo, his master for the longest time. He goes out of his way, but things don’t work, and the new guests create more problems than Sirisco had expected. 


Panfilo

Karan Gill, as Lord Panfilo, is the intelligent aristocrat who has tremendous knowledge of various subjects. He also happens to be one of the invitees to the wedding of Viscount Leonardo. Along with him, he is joined by his wife, Lady Neifile. It is easy to conclude Lord Panfilo is gay and is attracted to men. He and his wife have never consummated their marriage. On paper, his marriage to Neifile is perfect, but they are very different people. Lord Panfilo is shown to be attracted to two men around the villa, and one of them happens to be Doctor Dioneo, while the other is a local postman. Lord Panfilo goes through an emotional upheaval on learning his wife might be seeking pleasure from someone else, and that he will probably have to step up. Lord Panfilo is the only man in this show who is willing to make a change and be a considerate partner instead of keeping her waiting. 


Neifile

Lou Gala is excellent as the wife of Lord Panfillo. She is a devout Christian, but soon she begins to have cravings for physical intimacy, which is nonexistent in her marriage to her highly intelligent husband. As a lady, she is attracted to doctor Dioneo, and she is unable to find a way to channel her feelings. As a devout woman, she considers any form of intimacy with anyone who is not her spouse a sin. Neifile tries her level best to get intimate with Dioneo, but it never works, and her pursuit for physical gratification is never fulfilled. It will be interesting to find out if Neifile finds a platonic partner or sticks to being with Lord Panfilo, who remains her legally wed husband. 


Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.


 

 

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