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Welsh actor Alexander Vlahos, known for his roles in TV series such as “Merlin,” “Outlander” and “Versailles,” is set to play a British ornithologist who, during a field trip to Sicily, gets involved in more than mere birdwatching.

Shooting is underway in Sicily on the indie drama “Hearts of Salt,” the first feature by London-based line producer Rosa Russo. The passion project is structured as a three-way co-production between Italy, the U.K. and Tunisia, with shooting also planned in the North African country. Tunisia will serve as a second location besides the Italian island.

Though plot details are scarce, “Hearts of Salt” will see Vlahos — who will soon be seen opposite Lindsay Lohan in the Netflix rom-com “Irish Wish” — arrive in Sicily on a mission to study the effects of climate change on bird migrations. However, the ornithologist will soon have to abandon his role as a detached observer...

“I could not have known the global conversation that started around aspects of the show that directly deal with family repair and forgiveness and of course, love,” reveals declares author, co-creator and co-writer Tembi Locke about her hit Netflix limited series “From Scratch.” For our recent webchat she adds, “the other piece is around how we say goodbye to our loved ones. I have gotten messages from South America, from Australia, from China, from Russia, from France, from England,” she says, noting that “although that’s something I know we hoped when we were making it, the fact that that is actually connected; that’s incredibly moving to me.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

See Zoe Saldaña interview: ‘From Scratch’

In “From Scratch,” Zoe Saldaña portrays Amahle “Amy” Wheeler, an American student studying in Italy, who is loosely based on Locke’s personal story as a young woman forging a new path in Italy.

“Deep, deep down, I knew it was going to be an uphill experience, and I was ready. I was all for it, and it ended up being much harder than I was expecting, but we showed up every day,” admits Zoe Saldana about starring in and co-producing the hit Netflix limited series “From Scratch.” For our recent webchat she adds, “the cast, the LA crew, the Italian crew; we showed up every day, and we gave it 120%. It didn’t matter if it was 16 hour days or 10 hour days. We were in it because we had all been moved by [writer and co-creator] Tembi’s story. But also we all had our personal share of grief, and we were there for ourselves as well, and Tembi gave us that space. That’s the thing about death and grief is it’s not an exclusive walk in life, it is inclusive of everyone and of everything.

“It’s been it’s been a lot of things. It’s been an amazing journey; the character and the story and this experience,” declares Italian actor Eugenio Mastrandrea on what starring in the hit Netflix limited series “From Scratch” has meant to him personally. For our recent webchat he adds, “but it’s been tough, I mean the sickness part,” about the unexpected impact that portraying a man dying with cancer has had on him both emotionally and physically. “I was feeling sad, we were in LA,” he recalls, “and [co-star] Lucia [Sardo] came to me and said, ‘honey, you’re a portraying a person that’s dying from cancer. Remember that your mind knows that you’re acting, but your body doesn’t and so your body is reacting is reacting like a cancer patient.’ In my in my body it’s been very difficult portraying him. I ended...

“I hope that people who watch the show take away that being alive is a kind of wondrous thing and don’t lose a second of it,” declares co-creator and showrunner Attica Locke about her hit Netflix limited series “From Scratch.” For our recent webchat she adds, “This experience was quite surreal, but so deeply moving. The fact that it’s so personal is ironically what made the project easier to do and also harder to do, because it was so personal, because I loved so much the people that the story is about. That’s what fueled me to get up every morning to stay up when we had late shoots, and to do all of the hard work and sweat of showrunning this really big show. But it’s also the very thing that made it really hard some days, which meant crying in my trailer,” she reveals.

As much as I work to be as objective as possible when writing TV criticism, it would be a lie to say that my mood doesn’t affect the way I feel about whatever I’m watching. When I turned on “From Scratch,” a long week had left me feeling more delicate than usual, and all too ready to slip into a warm bath of a show. Netflix’s unabashedly sentimental new limited series is just that — at least at first. What begins as a swoony romance in its first episodes becomes a heartrending story of loss and resilience by its last. Frankly, I never stood a chance.

Based on Tembi Locke’s memoir, and produced by Hello Sunshine after Reese Witherspoon picked it for her wide-reaching book club, “From Scratch” follows the beginning, middle, and end of the relationship between Texan artist Amy (Zoe Saldaña) and Italian chef Lino...

"From Scratch" is a new 8-episode, limited TV series, directed by Nzingha Stewart and Dennie Gordon, based on the memoir best-seller by Tembi Locke, stars Zoe Saldaña, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, Judith Scott, Kellita Smith, Lucia Sardo, Paride Benassai, Roberta Riganored streams October 21, 2022 on Netflix:

"....'Amy Wheeler' (Saldaña) an American student studying abroad in Italy, meets and falls in love with 'Lino', a Sicilian chef. Their whirlwind romance faces unforeseen challenges, including their different cultural backgrounds. 

"But when Lino is suddenly faced with unimaginable health challenges and the couple's future is threatened, the two families come together to create an extended family unlike any they could have imagined, proving that love crosses all borders..." 

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The new Netflix limited series “From Scratch,” starring Zoe Saldaña and Eugenio Mastrandrea, debuted its first trailer Thursday.

Inspired by the New York Times bestselling memoir “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home” by Tembi Locke, the adaptation’s eight hour-long episodes will premiere on the streamer Oct. 21.

“In Italy we have a saying,” Mastrandrea’s voice glides over the opening sequence of Zoe Saldaña’s character studying abroad in Italy. “In dreams, as in love, all is possible.”

“From Scratch” centers on Amahle ‘Amy’ Wheeler (Saldaña) as she leaves her Texas hometown for college, and then the United States entirely for a semester studying abroad in Italy. Though she is planning to go to law school after undergrad, those plans change when she literally bumps into the handsome Sicilian chef, Lino (Mastrandrea).

In addition to Saldaña and Mastrandrea, the cast includes Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, Judith Scott,...

Exclusive: Netflix has rounded out the cast for From Scratch with the addition of Terrell Carter (Empire), Medalion Rahimi (NCIS: Los Angeles), Jonathan Del Arco (Star Trek: Picard), Peter Mendoza (Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles), Lorenzo Pozzan (Catch-22) and Jonathan D. King (Kidding).

The crew of actors, who will recur in the project form Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar banners, join previously announced cast members Saldana, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, Kellita Smith, Judith Scott, Lucia Sardo, Paride Benassai and Roberta Rigano.

Giacomo Gianniotti (Grey’s Anatomy), Elizabeth Anweis (Batwoman), Kassandra Clementi (Breach) and Rodney Gardiner (David Makes Man) will guest star throughout the limited series based on Tembi Locke’s 2019 bestselling memoir.

Adapted by Locke’s sister Attica Locke, who serves as showrunner, From Scratch is the story of an African American woman who falls in love with a Sicilian chef while studying...

Exclusive: Eugenio Mastrandrea has been tapped as the male lead opposite Zoe Saldana in Netflix’s limited series From Scratch, based on Tembi Locke’s bestselling memoir. Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, Kellita Smith, Judith Scott, Lucia Sardo, Paride Benassai and Roberta Rigano (I Know This Much Is True) also have been cast in the project, from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine banner.

Adapted for TV by Locke’s sister, Attica Locke, From Scratch is the story of an African American woman who falls in love with a Sicilian chef (Mastrandrea) while studying abroad in Florence and goes on to build a life with him in Los Angeles, merging two seemingly opposite cultures.

Tembi Locke,...