The new Netflix series The Taste of Life with Zoe Saldana is not just a simple romance, since it is adapted from an autobiography…
In The Taste of Life, to discover on Netflix, Zoe Saldana (Amy) falls under the spell of Eugenio Mastrandrea (Lino-, a Sicilian chef who will introduce her to the beauty of his country. Amy goes to live with him in Los Angeles where their respective cultures, apparently opposed, must cohabit.When her husband discovers that he has cancer, she becomes his nurse and the architect of the rapprochement of their two very different families…
The series is adapted from an American bestseller entitled “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home”, written by Tembi Locke which you can also get here. The young woman has used writing as a cathartic tool to deal with her grief and to show her daughter – whom she adopted with her husband before his death – the kind of love story she can live a day.
His book is a success, appearing in the New York Times list of novels not to be missed. He even caught the eye of a certain Reese Witherspoon who selected him for her book club. Her crush is such that she offers her author to produce an adaptation via her company Hello Sunshine productions.
Tembi Locke is approaching her sister, Attica, to co-create and write the series. The names are changed: Tembi and Saro become Amy and Lino. But the rest is more or less faithful. Rivalries and cultural differences between the two families are dealt with, as is her husband’s illness.
It was Reese Witherspoon who offered Zoe Saldana the lead role, after discovering during a dinner with her that she mastered Italian to perfection. The latter also fell under the spell of the love story between Tembi and Saro. Just like Netflix subscribers. With 32 million hours of viewing and a top 10 in 74 countries according to Forbes, we can say that Le Goût de vivre is a great success.