Is Netflix’s ‘From Scratch’ Based On a True Story?

Netflix‘s From Scratch is here to give you your biggest cry of the year.

The eight-episode limited series follows Amahle “Amy” Wheeler (Zoe Saldana), an American student who meets the love of her life while studying abroad in Italy. After falling for Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea), a sexy Sicilian chef, the two move to America to build a bright future together. When Lino encounters unexpected health issues, all their plans are derailed. From start to finish, From Scratch tells a touching story of love, loss, food, and family. Its characters will bury themselves in your hearts, its food scenes will leave you hungry for authentic Italian cuisine, and the events that unfold over the course of the series will have you wondering if Amy and Lino’s love and life was inspired by a true story.

Curious if Netflix’s From Scratch is based on a true story? If Amy and Lino are based off of real people? Or if From Scratch was adapted from a book? We’ve got the answers, but be warned, From Scratch spoilers lie ahead.

Is Netflix’s From Scratch Based On a True Story? Are Amy and Lino Based On Real People?

While watching From Scratch, you may find yourself wondering if the limited series is based on a true story. It’s so incredibly sad that you’ll hope it wasn’t, but From Scratch is based on mother, actor, author, screenwriter, and producer Tembi Locke’s true story of love, loss, and life with her late husband Saro Gullo. After Saro was diagnosed with a rare form of soft-tissue cancer in 2002, Locke spent 10 years caring for him. Like the characters in the series, the two eventually adopted a child (named Zoela), and sadly Saro died from his disease in 2012.

More specifically, Netflix’s series is an adaptation of Locke’s 2019 memoir, From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home. The best-selling memoir is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, and Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine adapted the story into a Netflix series. Locke’s memoir has the following description on Amazon, which mirrors the Netflix series almost exactly: “It was love at first sight when Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of him marrying a black American woman, an actress no less. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forges on. They build a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopt at birth. Eventually, they reconcile with Saro’s family just as he faces a formidable cancer that will consume all their dreams.”

Locke and Gullo’s names were obviously changed in adaptation, but something else that’s different is Locke’s character’s profession. In the series, Saldana’s Amy is an artist, but in real life — as the memoir details — Locke is an actress. You’ve likely even seen her on screen before, even if you haven’t connected the dots. According to Locke’s IMDb page, she’s had dozens of roles since her first listed credit in 1994, when she played Valerie Johnson in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Over the years, she’s portrayed Lisa Dixon on Beverly Hills, 90210, had a cameo on Friends as a character named Karin, played Dr. Diana Davis in Sliders, and more. She’s best known for roles as Grace Monroe on Eureka, Dr. Walcott in Dumb and Dumber To, and Guinness Woman in Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star. Most recently, Lock played Elise Torres in Mindy Kaling’s Netflix series, Never Have I Ever.

If you want to learn more about Locke’s story after watching From Scratch, you can follow her on Instagram, visit her website, and read her memoir for yourself.