It is probably safe to assume that by now almost everyone has at least heard of “Emily in Paris”, the new Netflix Original show starring Lily Collins. If you haven’t, please saddle in, because I feel like this one needs to be discussed. I’m the kind of person that will watch (read: binge) any TV show that is put in front of me – as long as there are no ghosts or horror stories involved – but quite frankly this one was scary enough.   

Basically, the show’s premise is that Emily – who works for a marketing firm in Chicago – takes a promotion in Paris to help provide an “American viewpoint” to their branch. A great new opportunity for her, and the chance to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world; what could possibly go wrong? This show sticks very clearly to Darren Star’s expertise in producing shows focusing on high fashion women in amazing jobs balancing their lives in a big city, where their wardrobe is more expensive than their rent. Now, it’s safe to say that in 2020 his previous hit “Sex and the City” hasn’t exactly aged like fine wine, but I had hopes for this show.  I like Lily Collins, and at a time where deadlines snuck up on me like a ton of bricks, I just wanted to curl up under my covers and watch her excel in her new life. Oh boy was I wrong. 

For starters, she doesn’t speak a word of French. Now I could have forgiven her for this; she at least tried going to language classes and did some Duolingo on the plane. However, her attitude towards the language barrier is to walk into a shop, say bonjour, and then resort to speaking in English and complaining about how no one could understand her. If there was a book of French clichés, Emily would have not just encountered them all by episode 2, but she would have tried to correct them. In the span of 40 minutes of watching, I think it had tackled everything – Moulin Rouge, Ratatouille, croissants, wine before noon (which admittedly I could get behind), and of course the berets. 

Essentially this show paints Parisians as rude, snobbish, and very disagreeable people who do nothing but drink and never show up to work on time. For this reason I think the show has split reviews down the middle, as some have found it offensive while others were just amused at the obvious use of stereotypes.   

I found it very similar to the way that Sex and the City paints New York as being far from how New York actually is. For a show about the wonders of Paris, I really did feel like I was in some sort of bizarre fever dream where Paris was just two perfect streets and you could walk from the Eifel Tower to the Louvre in a minute. Also while watching it, I in no way felt like the year was 2020 (which maybe could have been a good thing). This show could have easily been set at the same time as when Carrie Bradshaw was walking the streets of New York, and I wouldn’t have thought any different.  

Leave aside the unrealistic ideas, as well as the lack of any real plot that had me far from being on the edge of my seat. I also found it hard to believe that Emily, who is shown to be a social media expert whose new work colleagues hate because she has so many ideas, only has 49 Instagram followers when she first moves to Paris. By the time she’s been there a week, she’s gained thousands of followers by simply posting about 5 photos with cheesy captions and endless selfies with pastries – much to the disappointment of her ‘Devil wears Prada’, Meryl-Streep-esque boss who only hates her because she sees so much of herself in her. Another cliché to tick off the list.

Emily just doesn’t make it easy for herself and I know it’s hard to make a good main character but every time she opened her mouth, she would say something rude or critical that just made me cringe and sink back further into my seat.  

I feel terrible saying this because I do love Lily Collins and her work, and I enjoy the fashion and sights the show has to offer but the show itself, the writing, the production doesn’t quite garner the critical success it was hoping for. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love to hate this show and it doesn’t stop it from being completely bingeable. It was a great stress reliever for me after a long day of essay writing to have all my anger focussed on little things like the fact Emily ran 5 miles in a puffer jacket, or even the larger issues such as the fact the show romanticised cheating on partners. 

Basically, this show reminds me that in 2020 we absolutely did not need another Sex and the City full of clichés, stereotyping, and offensive attitudes, with a bizarre reminiscence of a 2005 issue of Cosmopolitan. However, I would be lying if I didn’t admit I love to hate this show and if/when Season 2 comes out I will be pouring myself a (very large) glass of wine and shouting at the TV. 

I would also highly recommend looking at the countless tweets about the show’s stupidity. A friend and I spent a good hour going through them all, laughing endlessly. It really did make my day so much better.