Zoe Saldana Has The #1 Show On Netflix
Zoe Saldana's show From Scratch is #1 on Netflix.
This article is more than 2 years old
Zoe Saldana is riding a career high right now. Not only is the actress Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, but she’s also set to reprise her role as Neytiri in James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water. In addition to her success on the big screen, Zoe Saldana is featured on the top streaming show on Netflix. According to Flix Patrol, the Zoe Saldana drama series From Scratch is #1 on Netflix’s top 10 streaming shows of the week.
This is a significant accomplishment for Saldana and the series showrunner Attica Locke. From Scratch arrived on the streaming platform on October 21, 2022.
Inspired by Tembi Locke’s memoir of the same name, From Scratch follows Zoe Saldana’s character Amy, an American student studying abroad in Italy who begins a romance with a Sicilian chef named Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea). As noted in BuzzFeed, the couple’s romance is threatened by unforeseen challenges and their different cultural backgrounds. The story draws from Locke’s From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home. Reese’s Book Club selected the memoir as their pick in 2019.
With positive reviews from most of the top critics on Rotten Tomatoes, From Scratch has already become one of the best-reviewed shows on streaming. In addition to Zoe Saldana, the Netflix hit series stars Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, Kellita Smith, Judith Scott, Lucia Sardo, Paride Benassai, and Roberta Rigano. Filming for the drama began in Los Angeles on April 5, 2021, and ended on August 7, 2021.
The Zoe Saldana Netflix drama follows the success of other top series on the platform, including Stranger Things, Ryan Murphy’s Jeffery Dahmer series, Ozark, and others. It’s also another instance of big-name movie stars leading a streaming series into prominence. Now that we’re in the age of streaming, more famous actors and actresses are keen on appearing on the small screen.
As noted, From Scratch draws heavily from the real-life story of Tembi Locke. For instance, the Zoe Saldana Netflix series incorporates Locke’s romance with a Sicilian chef after she moved to Florence, Italy, in 1990. While producing the Netflix series, Tembi decided not to watch a lot of the scenes in order to “protect [her] own memories” of the time she spent with her Sicilian lover, Rosario “Saro” Gullo.
Despite changing the names of Zoe Saldana and Eugenio Mastrandrea’s characters in the Netflix series, Tembi has stated she still feels connected to Amy. During her interview on TODAY, Tembi explained that the writers changed the characters’ names to give “psychic distance” between herself and the fictional portrayals.
Tembi co-wrote From Scratch with her sister Attica Locke. Attica admitted to not having much in common with her equivalent on the show, Zora, played by Danielle Deadwyler. In the Zoe Saldana Netflix series, Zora is the older sister to Amy. However, Attica is very much the little sister in her and Tembi’s relationship.
Tembi and her Sicilian lover Saro stayed connected even after Tembi moved back to the U.S. and Saro continued work as a chef in Florence. They reunited in New York and moved to Hollywood together. The Zoe Saldana Netflix series changes where the two lovers reunited.
One aspect of Tembi and Saro’s story that the Zoe Saldana Netflix series does depict is Saro’s cancer diagnosis. Saro was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that starts in the soft tissue. Despite having been stricken by cancer, Saro remained in the care of Tembi for the next ten years and adopted a child name Zoela. In the series, Amy and Lino adopt a child name, Idalia.
During her interview with TODAY, Tembi said the Zoe Saldana Netflix series contains a message only her real-life daughter would catch. She called it an “audible easter egg” spoken to by her character’s father.
The show has wowed fans worldwide and presented a slice of life in Florence, Italy. While Zoe Saldana may have more prominent projects on the horizon, her role in the Netflix drama may be one of her best this year. It’s a heartwarming drama that focuses on human relationships and the struggles to maintain them. Hopefully, the series connects to those with similar personal stories to that of Tembi.
