Heartbreaking true story behind moving Netflix series that left viewers in tears
Netflix users are claiming a romantic drama has them in streams of tears - but the memoir it’s based on is even more heartbreaking.
Arguably some of the best limited series’ to date reside on Netflix. There’s the recently released One Day starring Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod, the 2021 mini-series Maid and Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin.
However, subscribers have recently taken to social media to rave about a romantic drama starring Zoe Saldaña and Eugenio Mastrandrea.
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From Scratch was released in 2022 and is based on the devastating 2019 memoir by actress Tembi Locke.
The 53-year-old is best known for portraying Dr. Grace Monroe on Eureka and worked with Reece Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, to bring her book to the streaming service.
The eight-episode offering is an emotional mini-series chronicling the romance of Amy (played by Saldaña) and Lino (Mastrandrea).
From Scratch is set between Sicily and Los Angeles and is based on the emotional love story of Locke and her late husband Saro Gullo.
Opening up about the inspiration for the show, the actress told Forbes: “The first time I saw Saro…I was just 20 years old, and I was like, ‘He’s cute.’
“It was pretty superficial, to be honest. But I did recognize this level of honesty and openness in him that I wasn’t ready for at the time. But he pursued me.
“It became evident quickly that he was the kind of quality person I hadn’t seen before. He introduced me to this type of love and taught me the possibility of the type of love that could be.”
The author continued to describe their love as ‘funny, open, reciprocal, respectful and visionary’ but admitted it faced a multitude of obstacles.
Like in From Scratch, Gullo’s real family initially disapproved of his decision to marry a black woman.
Despite being heartbroken, the pair forged on and moved to LA where they eventually adopted their daughter.
Years after the family fallout, Gullo and Locke thankfully reconciled with his Sicilian family before the former died of cancer in 2012.
Her emotional memoir, entitled From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, details three summers she and her daughter Zoela spent in Sicily healing from the loss.
“I felt I’d suffer another grief if I didn’t write down what I’d experienced,” she explained to the publication. “The memoir also serves as a blueprint for my daughter, for the kind of love I hope she finds someday.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Locke claimed that the Netflix series was a ‘letter to love’ and that it also served to hero her mother-in-law.
It’s said that although she died before watching From Scratch, the woman knew about Locke’s memoir and was ‘honored’ to be part of it.
Interestingly, the romantic drama has recently seen an influx of fans taking to social media to praise it.
One Facebook user wrote: “It's amazing! Brilliant series but you will cry.”
A second commented: “Yea I can normally hold in my tears but I definitely couldn’t with this one! Cried several times but such a beautiful story.”
“Be prepared for this to pull on your heartstrings,” a third user warned. “Such a beautiful story!”
Another wrote on X: “Do yall remember that Netflix show From Scratch? Why I just started crying thinking about it like I’m literally sitting here sobbing, ugly crying & all!”
And a final wrote: “If you haven’t seen From Scratch on Netflix you’re missing out on arguably the best heart break of your life.”
From Scratch is available to stream on Netflix now.
Topics: Film and TV, Netflix, Books, Celebrity
Ella Scott