Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Revealing the Cast That Will Bring From Scratch' to Screen

07/04/2021

Back to All News

Revealing the Cast That Will Bring From Scratch' to ScreenTembi Locke

Author and Executive Producer

Entertainment

07 April 2021

GlobalUnited States

It's an honor to revisit From Scratch for the screen. In many ways, it feels like a cinematic love letter - and the perfect next step of this story. Long before I wrote the book about my experience with love and loss after the death of my husband, I spent years replaying the memories in my mind. There is no better person to take on this journey than my creative partner, showrunner, and family member - my sister, Attica Locke. She knows the story like no one else. For us, this is life and art colliding to allow the personal to become the universal.

Having Zoe Saldana sign on to From Scratch was quite literally dream casting. We knew casting certain characters would be a challenge, particularly the lead role of Lino, based on my late husband. Attica called me after she first saw one actor's audition. She had a visceral reaction and told me we should sit on the phone together as I watched. From that phone call we knew. Here was someone we didn't know but who felt like family. Every member of our cast feels like that.

After more than a year of isolation, separation, and loss, and it is beautiful and even fortuitous to share a story that embraces the richness of nature, food, love, and travel - the things we have all been denied. I hope the series will nourish our souls, inspire creativity, and, of course, remind us of the magical ways food can express love.

There could be no more perfect home for From Scratch than Netflix. Stretching across multiple languages, many cultures, and two continents, our show is about how love and our shared humanity can cross borders. It's exciting to know that this series, which highlights the universal things that unite us no matter where we are on the planet, will be streamed all over the planet.

THE CAST

Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar) plays Amy Wheeler, a young woman from Texas who arrives wide-eyed in Italy, searching for a life full of beauty and adventure. An unexpected romance with a charming Sicilian, Lino, teaches her to live a life full of love and passion for romance, art, and food.

Eugenio Mastrandrea (La Fuggitiva, The Girl from last century) plays Lino, a Sicilian chef who grew up translating literature at night, after spending days picking garlic and olives with his father in the fields of Sicily and learning to cook at his mother's stove. Lino broke 100 years of tradition by leaving the fields of Sicily to become a chef. It's through the love of his wife that he's able to fulfill his dream of dreams before the end of his life.

Danielle Deadwyler (Watchmen, The Harder They Fall) plays Zora, Amys older sister and best friend. Although she sometimes resents her baby sister for getting their parents to go along with her rule-breaking she also lovingly cheers her on. With wry humor, she is Amy's fiercest ally in the family.

Keith David (Greenleaf, Welcome to the Blumhouse) plays Hershel, former civil rights activist, and Amy's father. Hershel is a plainspoken man who lets his kids make their own decisions but doesn't bullshit them if he thinks they're about to make a mistake. He raised two headstrong young women. Though happily remarried, his divorce from Amy's mom is a wound he still carries.

Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show, Z Nation) plays Lynn, Amy's bitingly funny mother full of judgment about almost every aspect of her daughter's life. Lynn gave Hershel custody of the girls after they divorced and has spent the last decade feeling guilty and regretting this decision.

Judith Scott (Dear White People, Snowfall) plays Maxine, Herschel's wife, and Amy's stepmother. Maxine practically raised Amy and Zora during their teen years, and her commitment to them is unwavering.

Lucia Sardo (Nastro dArgento, Picciridda) plays Filomena, Lino's mother. Filomena is deeply bound by Sicilys Old World culture but is adept at finding clever ways to work around the patriarchal hierarchy of her country and her marriage.

Paride Benassai (Felicia Impastato, La Fuitina Sbagliata) plays Giacomo, Lino's father. This man with a grade school education devoted his life to garlic and olive farming and provided for his family; he is a proud patriarch who disapproves of his son not taking over the family business.

Roberta Rigano (I Know This Much Is True) plays Lino's sister, Biagia. She feels abandoned by Lino but also proud of his accomplishments by leaving home. She is also hurt and angry with herself for all the ways acquiescing to the patriarchal order cost her joy and a different life she could have had.
LINK: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/revealing-the-cast-that-will-bring-f...
See more stories from netflix

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

20/04/2026

Google Cloud Embraces the Rise of Agentic Production

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Creators Go All in on AI, Niche Content

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

NBC Sports' Jon Miller: Broadcast Is Having a Moment'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Beyond the Lift and Shift': Cloud Migration's New Mandate

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Virtual Production Finds Its Footing

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Corporate Creators: All Companies Are Media Companies Now

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

IABM Rebrands as the International Association of MediaTech

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

CBS Detroit Debuts New AR/VR Technology-Driven Studio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Fox Sports Taps Appear X Platform for Remote Production

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

CueScript and Lighting Design Group Expand Customer Oppor...

CueScript and Lighting Design Group Expand Customer Opportunities Through New Partnership Find both companies at 2026 NAB Show in CueScript Booth # C 4720 ...

20/04/2026

Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-En...

[Sydney, NSW, 20 April 2026] - Layercake, the company behind the intelligent media orchestration platform Streamcake, today announced the formalisation of its i...

20/04/2026

FOX Sports selects Appear X Platform for next-generation...

Deployment spans FOX Sports' REMI infrastructure, IP production for a major global soccer event, and its Jewel Events production systems Appear, a global l...

20/04/2026

Pro Sound Effects Launches the Industry's First and Only Native Sound Effects Integration for Avid Media Composer at NAB 2026

Pro Sound Effects Launches the Industry's First and Only Native Sound Effect...

20/04/2026

SBE Elevates Fred Willard to SBE Fellow

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 Update

Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 Update Brie Clayton April 20, 2026 0 Comments New update adds camera control and monitoring ...

20/04/2026

Maxon Announces Free Tools and Mobile Expansion of ZBrush and Cinema 4D

Maxon Announces Free Tools and Mobile Expansion of ZBrush and Cinema 4D Brie Clayton April 20, 2026 0 Comments Cinema 4D brings professional 3D workfl...

20/04/2026

Vizrt AI Keyer kills the green screen and creates virtual scenes in any environment

Vizrt AI Keyer kills the green screen and creates virtual scenes in any environm...

20/04/2026

Register now - Market & Audience Department Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session

Register now - Market & Audience Department Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session 11 February 2026 Screen Australia Head of Market & Audience Rakel Tansley Talking to...

20/04/2026

Screen Australia appoints Tanya Phegan as Narrative Content Head of Development

Screen Australia appoints Tanya Phegan as Narrative Content Head of Development 17 March 2026 Tanya Phegan Screen Australia has today announced the appointmen...

20/04/2026

Applications Open for Skip Ahead 11

Applications Open for Skip Ahead 11 19 March 2026 Past Skip Ahead recipients (L-R): Macfarlane Bros, Rainbow Bop, Lyanna Kea. Screen Australia and YouTube Aus...

20/04/2026

Screen Australia empowers the next games generation, including new creatives from neighbouring disciplines

Screen Australia empowers the next games generation, including new creatives fro...

20/04/2026

Official Co-production Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session

Official Co-production Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session 26 March 2026 Image (L-R): Mix Tape, Michele McDonald, Flower & Flour. Interested in international Co-pro...

20/04/2026

Screen Australia announces Narrative Content funding for 91 projects, including four short films paired with industry mentors

Screen Australia announces Narrative Content funding for 91 projects, including ...

20/04/2026

Production Infrastructure and Capacity Analysis (PICA) pinpoints four key workforce challenges in the Australian screen industry

Production Infrastructure and Capacity Analysis (PICA) pinpoints four key workfo...

20/04/2026

Australians in Film and Screen Australia Announce the 2026 Participants in the Talent Gateway and Global Producers Program

Australians in Film and Screen Australia Announce the 2026 Participants in the T...

20/04/2026

Screen Australia relaunches website with new tools and improved user experience

Screen Australia relaunches website with new tools and improved user experience 16 April 2026 Screen Australia relaunches website Screen Australia has relaun...

20/04/2026

Ikegami Announces VFE-P07D Monocular OLED Viewfinder

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

EVS Launches Choreon Robotic Control Solution

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Ross Video Showcases End-To-End Production Ecosystem at 2026 Nab Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

Heidi Steffen to Become President of TitanTV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/04/2026

NVIDIA and Partners Showcase the Future of AI-Driven Manufacturing at Hannover Messe 2026

Manufacturing is at an inflection point. Across every major industrial economy, ...

20/04/2026

Autonomous AI at Scale: Adobe Agents Unlock Breakthrough Creative Intelligence With NVIDIA and WPP

AI agents are transforming how work gets done across all industries, acceleratin...

19/04/2026

NAB Show 2026 Is Here! Follow All of our Live Coverage!

Blackmagic Design has announced the ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP and ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus, two SMPTE 2110-native live production switchers. The ATEM ...

19/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Grass Valley CEO Jon Wilson on AMPPs Explosive Growth, Hybrid Workflows, and Whats New at the Show

Grass Valley is finding the right balance between its hardware heritage with an ...

19/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Oracles Kip Schauer on Why OCI Is Doubling Down on Media, Sports, and Broadcast

Oracle's strategy rests on the foundational strengths of Oracle Cloud Infras...

19/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Program Productions Jess Kowatch on Whats New with ProCrewz and the Impact of AI on Crewing

Program Productions, the live sports production industry's leading crewer, i...

19/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Aggrekos Joe Scionti on Powering the Super Bowl, PGA Championship, and the Road to the FIFA World Cup

At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, SVG sat down with Joe Scionti, Account Manage...

19/04/2026

NAB 2026: Evertz to highlight evertz.io XChange for live event management and market switching

Evertz (Booth N817) is set to present new services within its evertz.io platform...

19/04/2026

NAB 2026: Evertz to showcase IPMX-certified NUCLEUS and MMA platforms for AV and ST 2110 integration

Evertz (Booth N817) will showcase its IPMX-certified NUCLEUS platform alongside ...

19/04/2026

NAB 2026: Evertz to showcase ENX media core for hybrid SDI and IP facilities

Evertz (Booth N817) is set to showcase ENX at NAB 2026, a media core platform designed to support hybrid SDI and IP infrastructures in production facilities and...

19/04/2026

NAB 2026: Evertz introduces Studer VistaVUE Touch for broadcast control

Evertz (Booth N817) will introduce Studer VistaVUE Touch at NAB 2026, a control surface designed to integrate audio, video and control workflows within a custom...

19/04/2026

NAB 2026: Evertz highlights X-CALIBER high-density encoding platform for media transport

Evertz (Booth N817) will highlight X-CALIBER at NAB 2026, an encoding and decodi...