From Scratch

On the surface, Netflix's new series From Scratch is a sweet love story between Amy and Lino, but really it's a devastating tale of grief and loss. and ...

She has that comfortable kind of love I wish for all Black women, and so, instead of filling our visit with tears and bracing for trauma, I reveled in the joy of love, and relief of family bonds and safe spaces. Like Amy, I watched her receive the love she deserves; her husband is doting and present, a steadfast anchor in the storm of an exhausting illness. As they fall in love and take their romance from Florence back to the U.S., they are forced to deal with the complications that come with one partner moving across the world for another. We watch the couple dig deep into their relationship, equal parts passion and pain, while Lino tries to find his footing as a chef in a foreign country (the food porn throughout the series is *chef’s kiss*). Leaving out the fact that racism played a key part in their love story probably seemed like a way for the creators (the showrunner is Locke’s sister [Attica Locke](https://www.atticalocke.com/)) to avoid the Traumatic Black Story™ tag. [Traumatic Black Stories](https://www.cnn.com/style/article/trauma-free-blackness-culture-queue/index.html)™ canon (which, again, is a lot smaller than Twitter suggests), but as much as From Scratch is about suffering loss and gut-wrenching heartbreak, it also explores the joy of falling in love — the kind of real love that is so all consuming and so deep that the thought of losing it is unimaginable. Come for the romance, stay for the family dinner scenes that will make you cringe with recognition and laugh from the absurdity. I believe that all Black women deserve a comfortable kind of love, a safe place to land when the world is on its bullshit. Their loud, loveable, messy, and sometimes frustrating Southern — and very Black — dynamic is the soul of the series, and along with Lino’s health, that storyline takes the series from a saccharine fairytale to a complex family drama. On the surface, Netflix’s new series [From Scratch](https://www.netflix.com/title/81104486)is a sweet love story, but really it’s a devastating tale of grief and loss. That’s the kind of love Lino gives to Amy. [Never Have I Ever](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2022/08/11063645/never-have-i-ever-des-devi-together), [To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/02/10292809/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-contract-scene-missed-detail), almost every rom-com starring [Kat Graham](https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/2020/11/10189521/netflix-operation-christmas-drop-kat-graham-interview)and [Christina Milian](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/08/241722/falling-inn-love-netflix-christina-milian-adam-demos-goat-interview), etc) and why the intricacies of their interracial relationships are never explored, but I also know better than to expect thoughtful examinations of the nuance of that dynamic or to hope for the prioritization of Black love onscreen – especially from Netflix.

Pivotal moments in the newest Netflix limited series, 'From Scratch,' take place in Florence, Italy. So was that the 'For Scratch' filming location?

Lino suffers from a rare cancer in From Scratch that requires intensive treatment. [Netflix](https://www.distractify.com/t/netflix) limited series From Scratch, which premiered on Oct. Reese Witherspoon also served as an executive producer on From Scratch with her production company Hello Sunshine. Netflix has billed it as a limited series, so it's more than likely not going to return for another season. Will their love survive past their initial meet-cute in Italy? True to form, From Scratch did actually film in Florence, according to a report from

Not sure how many tissues you'll need to get through Netflix's limited-series weepfest 'From Scratch'? Allow us to help with a recap of what happens in this ...

Will you cry during this episode? I don’t know, does the thought of a hardened woman telling her daughter-in-law that her son and this woman were like “two forks eating off the same plate” make you want to cry? You will need every last tissue you can find and this episode will ruin your life. They always seem to get you in the end, don’t they? If you have any type of feelings about your dad, it might ruin your afternoon. Amy and Lino are getting married at a gorgeous villa in Florence, but you won’t see Lino’s family in attendance. If we’re talking emojis, this is less a 😭episode and more a 👀 because honestly, what the fuck, Lino’s dad?! Finally, Lino waits for Amy in the rain and they have a big epic kiss in the rain, finally giving in to their feelings in the rain. From Scratch lures you in with gorgeous shots of Florence, hot people falling in love, and food montages that could make you both hungry and horny, depending on what you’re into. So here is an episode-by-episode guide about what to expect on the From Scratch journey, how deeply that episode might make you cry, and how many tissues you might want to have on hand as you watch so you can prepare accordingly. You watch a weepy episode of TV right before you’re supposed to head out of the house — good luck to you and anyone else you might encounter for the next 30 minutes. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a heads-up before you embark on an episode of television that might make you bite into a pillow while stifling sobs?

Netflix's 'From Scratch,' starring Zoe Saldaña, follows the beginning, middle and end of Tembi Locke's real-life love story.

In spanning the entirety of their time together, “From Scratch” has far more to tackle than the simple facts of how Amy and Lino first become a couple. Based on Tembi Locke’s memoir, and produced by Hello Sunshine after Reese Witherspoon picked it for her wide-reaching book club, “From Scratch” follows the beginning, middle, and end of the relationship between Texan artist Amy (Zoe Saldaña) and Italian chef Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea). [From Scratch](https://variety.com/t/from-scratch/),” a long week had left me feeling more delicate than usual, and all too ready to slip into a warm bath of a show.

Is From Scratch based on a true story? Hear about the love story between Tembi Locke and Saro Gullo that inspired the Netflix show from Tembi and Attica ...

"I think she's really beginning to understand who this person is that she's seen her mother have a moment in the kitchen, stabbed by grief," she said. "All of the reminders that we are still living, that there is still live and abundance. "Amy's name was a wink and a nod to having an Afrocentric name and the ways in which it changes," she said. Tembi added that the show contains a message only for Zoela to notice — one the rest of us will pass by. “And I think one of the things that I learned is life is still happening all around us and for us, we’d always wanted to be parents.” Indeed, Saro was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that starts in the soft muscle tissue, in 2002. In the show, Amy and Lino's adopted daughter's name is Idalia. I think that Zora is a good sister, and I hope that I’m a good sister. Ready to listen, to love, to look into the darkness and see a thin filament of the moon.” The writers had to devise a way to get Amy to L.A. "I didn't watch the visuals because I want to maintain and protect my own memories. "They are in for a love story that, like life, is surprising and ever changing.

Zoe Saldaña discusses how she navigated her own personal grief while filming Netflix's "From Scratch," based on the memoir by Tembi Locke.

There is only the day-by-day process of moving through the darkness toward a sliver of light and, eventually, more light." And even as "a lot of sadness resurfaced," Saldaña felt it was OK. "It was also full of grace and wildly surprising joy," she says via email. "Throughout the years, we've come and gone in terms of our level of openness … "I know what it's like to lose a parent as a child, but I never knew what it was like to be my mom losing a partner," says Saldaña, who shares three children with Italian artist Marco Perego. "The thing about grief is that it's ongoing," the actor tells USA TODAY in a recent interview at Netflix and Elle's Latinas in Hollywood luncheon in Los Angeles.

The globe-spanning limited series, inspired by Tembi Locke's best-selling memoir, is the best kind of tearjerker. From Scratch premieres Oct. 21 on Netflix.

A little magic even in the face of heartbreak? When we first meet Lino, his father has already disowned him for running off to Florence to pursue his cooking dreams, and much of the series is about Lino and Giacomo mending that broken relationship. Saldaña and Mastrandrea have a natural, lived-in chemistry and are believable in every stage of Amy and Lino's relationship. The first episode, which is easily the weakest of the eight, is the most generic. The show takes time to make sure both Amy and Lino are more than that tragedy, and it takes time to celebrate their joy. The second advantage to the Locke sisters telling this familiar story is perhaps the more important one: It lends itself to some real specificity in the characters. The first is that there is an obvious love and care for this story and these characters woven into the show — Locke's TV counterpart is law student-turned-artist Amy (Saldaña), and Gullo becomes aspiring chef Lino ( [Eugenio Mastrandrea](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/eugenio-mastrandrea/3000957547/)), but the broad strokes of their story remain the same. But if you're even a small fan of the genre, you are in for a treat. That might sound like a knock, but as a fan of the romance genre, I promise you it is not. It's a story about their great love, it's a story about grief, and it's a story about building a home with people in ways you could've never imagined. (If you're trying to watch the series with no previous knowledge of Locke's story, now's the time to look away — you've been warned!) Locke's memoir chronicles her life with her late husband, Sicilian chef Saro Gullo, whom she met during study abroad in Italy. Fall might be the best season to dive into a weepy romance.

The series follows Tembi Locke as she experiences love and loss. Here are all of the From Scratch filming locations across Italy and the USA.

Much of the story is based in LA, and so this is where a lot of the series was filmed. The delectable city is steeped in history and is a feast for the senses thanks to its rich historical, culinary, and architectural scene. The series is a limited series, meaning that From Scratch won’t come back for a second season. The show looks at themes of love, loss, travel, and exactly what it means to find a home. In the autobiography, the story begins in Florence, Italy where Tembi falls in love with Saro, a professional chef. Yes, From Scratch is based on a true story.

In Netflix's From Scratch, based on Tembi Locke's memoir of the same name, Zoë Saldana plays an American woman who marries into an Italian family.

And that, to me, was very endearing and strong." "And that, to me, was very brave. Saldana notes that she not only understood with Tembi's journey — but also Zoela's, as she's a daughter of Dominican immigrants. It's a lot to handle in just one simple day." "But it's not for the faint of heart when you marry somebody who comes with a big baggage of 4,000 years of history and art and philosophy. It's a saga that never ends, that I love.

An American woman's vacation in Italy changes the trajectory of her life in ways that create beauty and conflict, love and loss in this TV-MA-rated show.

Amy is encouraged to pursue love and sex since a “lover” would shower her with money and gifts. Instead, she finds love and a passion for creating art that convinces her to change the entire course of her life. One of Amy’s roommates learns how to say “I don’t want to have sex” in Italian since she is engaged and doesn’t want other men to pursue her. Her other roommate learns how to do the opposite (and she returns home one morning after a presumed night of sexual dalliances). And he gave her the confidence she needed to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. Lino and Amy move to Los Angeles, get married (despite opposition from both their families) and even have a daughter.