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From Scratch is an American romance drama television miniseries created by Attica Locke and Tembi Locke for Netflix. Inspired by Tembi Locke's memoir of the same name, it stars Zoe Saldaña and Eugenio Mastrandrea. Its eight episodes premiered on October 21, 2022. Attica Locke was series showrunner.
Contents
Cast and characters
Main
Zoe Saldaña as Amy
Eugenio Mastrandrea as Lino
Danielle Deadwyler as Zora
Judith Scott as Maxine
Kellita Smith as Lynn
Lucia Sardo as Filomena
Paride Benassai as Giacomo
Roberta Rigano as Biagia
Keith David as Hershel
Recurring
Lorenzo Pozzan as Filippo
Peter Mendoza as Andreas
Jonathan D. King as Silvio
Terrell Carter as Ken
Saad Siddiqui as Dr. Atluri
Rodney Gardiner as Preston
Jonathan Del Arco as David
Guest
Giacomo Gianniotti as Giancarlo Caldesi
Medalion Rahimi as Laila Mahdi
Elizabeth Anweis as Chloe Lim
Kassandra Clementi as Caroline
Ferdinando Gattuccio as Italian notary
Claudia Gerini as art teacher
Production
Development
The series was announced on November 7, 2019. Zoe Saldaña was set to star and executive-produce. The series was created by and executive-produced by Attica Locke and Tembi Locke. Reese Witherspoon, Lauren Neustadter, Richard Abate, Jermaine Johnson and Will Rowbotham were also executive producers. Nzingha Stewart, Guy Louthan, Emily Ferenbach, Cisely Saldaña, and Mariel Saldaña were its producers.
Casting
Alongside the series announcement, Zoe Saldaña was cast. In April 2021, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, Kellita Smith, Judith Scott, Lucia Sardo, Paride Benassai, and Roberta Rigano were set to star. One month later, Terrell Carter, Medalion Rahimi, Jonathan Del Arco, Peter Mendoza, Lorenzo Pozzan, and Jonathan D. King were added as recurring. Giacomo Gianniotti, Elizabeth Anweis, Kassandra Clementi, and Rodney Gardiner were set as guest stars. In July 2021, Saad Siddiqui joined the cast as a recurring character.
Filming
Filming began in Los Angeles on April 5, 2021, and moved to Florence, Italy in July. Production ended on August 7, 2021 in Cefalù, Sicily.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 6.6/10, based on 12 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "By turns a buoyant and wistful romance, From Scratch is an emotionally resonant miniseries that benefits from its Italian scenery and Zoe Saldaña's considerable dramatic chops." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 67 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Zoe Saldana was nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special at the 54th NAACP Image Award.