The Decameron parents guide: How graphic is the sex, nudity, and violence?

Whenever a new series or movie with a mature age rating debuts on Netflix, it's always a gamble on what you're going to see within the series. Maybe it's an A Man in Full scenario, where the biggest nudity surprise happens at the very end, or it's similar to the streamer's comedy series Tires, which features crass language from beginning to end.

Before pressing play on a Netflix new release, you want to know a bit about what you're getting yourself into. It's best to have as much knowledge as possible on potential content and trigger warnings that might arise during a particular title. For instance, those with a fear of rats should be warned that the rodent critters make regular appearances in The Decameron.

Wondering if Netflix's new medieval dark comedy is the right watch for you? Before you begin watching, here's a spoiler-free guide to the content that makes up the series' age rating. The Decameron features sex, nudity, and violence, but just how graphic is it?

The Decameron earns its TV-MA rating

As if it wasn't already obvious based on the show's synopsis, The Decameron has been designated with a TV-MA age rating. The official series page on Netflix explains the rating with the categories language, nudity, sex, and violence, also making sure prospective viewers know it's intended for mature audiences. But what's behind the rating? How graphic does the series get?

Sex and nudity

There's a fair amount of sex scenes and discussion about sex throughout the show. There are sex scenes between both opposite and same-sex partners, as well as instances of self-pleasure. The instances of masturbation are mostly implied and don't contain nudity. Few of the sex scenes are graphic or show as much as you would see in other series or movies.

The first few episodes don't have as much nudity as a shirtless man. One scene involves a woman undressing for a man, but the top half of her body is covered by her hair. Other scenes later on feature naked dead bodies on the ground, and another scene features statues of penises and other erotic art. In the second half of the season, there's male and female rear nudity.

Language and violence

The language in the series is heightened and includes a fair amount of profanity. The words used go a bit beyond the usual suspects and veers into language that's suggestive of sex and body parts. Be warned that younger members of the family might overhear some bad words if the show's playing within earshot!

As for violence, the show takes place in the medieval era, so there's a fair amount of violence. Still, this isn't Game of Thrones. There are some fight sequences that include a person being stabbed to death, another person having their toe cut off, and another taking a knife to the eye. In addition, there are other graphic depictions of blood, illness, wounds, vomit, and death that some viewers might find disturbing.

Drinking and drugs

While there aren't drugs in the modern sense, drugs are featured in The Decameron. There are a few instances of characters being poisoned. Additionally, the characters do a fair amount of drinking. Because it's 1348, they're drinking out of chalices and not beer or wine bottles, but they are drinking and getting drunk all the same.

Overall, The Decameron won't be an appropriate watch for viewers much younger than 18, though the target demographic for the series still skews a bit older than that. Younger viewers likely won't understand the shenanigans being said and going on in the characters' Italian villa escape, but the language and situations are definitely unsuitable for children.

Watch The Decameron only on Netflix.