Attica Locke is sharing her thoughts on what made her show “From Scratch” such a massive success for Netflix
The limited series, which debuted in October 2022, reached No. 1 globally on Netflix. In the weeks following its premiere, the show’s following grew. It sparked some lively debates and commentary online over its love story that centered the narrative of its Black woman lead character.
The show’s story is actually based on the memoir of Locke’s sister and From Scratch co-creator, Tembi Locke.
In a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, Locke praised the series’ production partners at Hello Sunshine. Locke says the partners helped them navigate the challenges presented when the COVID pandemic shutdown the show’s writers room in 2020.
Locke recalled facing the daunting task of producing the series amid the COVID shutdowns. Other challenges included the show being shot in Italy, the cast using three languages and the use of international actors. Despite those struggles, Locke said she still “had a lot of faith.”
“Because at every step of the way, we — Tembi as the author and the woman on whose life the series was built, and me as the showrunner — had producing partners in Hello Sunshine who believed in this show, who believed in the Black women at the heart and helm of the project,” said Locke.
She went on to praise some of the Black women who worked on the project, including director and co-executive producer, Nzingha Stewart and actress Zoe Saldaña who both acted in the series and produced it with her sisters, Cisely and Mariel Saldaña.
Locke went on to share the support that she received from Netlix as she moved through the process of bringing “From Scratch” to life.
“From Scratch exists because of their faith, and because they, and ultimately Netflix, believed in a team of Black women creators, believed our certainty that viewers were hungry for a show like this, that the world was waiting to see more of Black women’s complexity onscreen,” she said.
Locke added that she was always confident in the appeal of the series. But the key to its success was Hello Sunshine and Netlix “being willing to de-center their point of view so that our series could be its most authentic self, a show that, as Tamron Hall said, ‘could only have been made by Black women.’”
Locke is encouraging Hollywood to listen to Black women creatives when they pitch Black women-centered stories.
“Because believing Black women is what made From Scratch the triumph that it is,” she concluded.