Netflix’s latest romantic drama series, From Scratch, is based on the 2019 New York Times bestselling novel by Tembi Locke of the same name.
While the latter half of Netflix’s October offering was Halloween themed series and movie titles, the leading paid subscription video-on-demand platform did offer viewers some form of variety.
One of the more popular offerings was the romantic drama series, From Scratch.
Featuring Zoe Saldana and Eugenio Mastrandrea in the tile roles of Amahle “Amy” Wheeler and Lino Ortolano, the series is about a couple who meet during Amy’s stay in Sicily, Italy as she furthers her aspirations to become an artist, which sets the lovers on their beautiful and compelling love story.
The miniseries is based on a book written by Tembi Locke of the same name.
How From Scratch honoured Tembi Locke
Usually with adaptations of novels or series of books, the author is given a producing credit or a script supervising credit to affirm that they were part of the creation process of the adaptation.
However, From Scratch, which was produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, went a step further and included Locke as an executive producer, whose voice was instrumental in creating a miniseries that was not only inspired by her real-life story, but which also honoured how she wanted the story told.
What book is From Scratch based on?
From Scratch is a Netflix eight-episode limited series which is based on the 2019 New York Times bestselling and Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection novel From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home.
The author of the book, Tembi Locke, tells the story in three summers of how she vacationed in Sicily, Italy to pursue her dreams, found love, lost her husband, Rosario “Saro’ Gullo to a rare cancer and returned to Sicily to introduce their adoptive daughter to her late husband’s family.
In an interview with Shondaland about writing the autobiographical book centred on healing after losing a hard-found love, Locke explained:
“I want to know how people get through things. It’s about the human experience. There are moments that are incredibly joyful”.
These words were echoed by executive producer, Reese Witherspoon, when she spoke about why she chose to adapt the autobiographical novel into the miniseries as she share:
“Tembi’s memoir is a raw and tender exhibition of life in all its pieces. She brings you into her love, her loss, and her resilience with such vulnerability and strength”.
However, though the miniseries was inspired by real life events, from the names of title characters, it is easy to see that some liberties were taken in terms of the book and the series.
All of these were done in conjunction and agreement with Locke as the executive producer of the series.
 |
| Buy it on Amazon |
1. Names of the characters were changed intentionally
Tembi Locke explained that all the names of the characters were consciously changed to give the actors “psychic distance” in order to embody and play their characters without limitations. But the names chosen were a carefully thought-out process.
Amy, whose real name is the South African name Amahle in the series, is like Tembi’s full name, which is the South African name Thembekile, which is what her parents call her, similarly to Amy.
Moreover, Tembi’s adoptive daughter, Zeila was behind choosing her own character name, which was Idalia.
2. Tembi Locke is the oldest sister
In the series, Amy is Zora Wheeler’s younger sister. But in real life, Tembi is the older sister, and her younger sister is Attica.
The decision to change their age dynamics was cited as a creative decision as the change in the age dynamic allowed for an impetus in terms of Amy and Lino deciding to relocate to Los Angeles from Sicily, as Zora was already established in the city to help the young couple get settled in.
3. Tembi versus Amy’s age difference
In the series, Amy Wheeler is a twenty-something year old who travels to Sicily, Italy to be inspired as she pursues her ambitions to be an acclaimed fine artist. However, the true event was that Tembi Locke aspired to be an actress.
Moreover, in the series Amy travels alone to Sicily, but in reality, Locke was a 20-year-old who got the opportunity for her first trip to Sicily through the Wesleyan University to Syracuse University study abroad program.