French accents, bold fashion statements and a love triangle can only mean one thing: Emily In Paris is back.
Lily Collins returns as the title character – Emily Cooper – a young American woman from the Midwest who uproots her life and takes a new job in Paris.
The show returns after a two-year hiatus, though that wait wasn’t seemingly long enough for some critics, who savagely bashed the show.
The first five episodes are available to watch on August 15 with viewers having to wait almost an entire month for the second instalment in September.
The latest season had a web of complex storylines to untangle, including Camille’s (Camille Razat) shocking pregnancy announcement to Emily’s (Lily Collins) intricate love triangle involving her chef neighbour Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) and hunky Brit Alfie (Lucien Laviscount).
And Emily finally makes her choice, as she and Gabriel finally choose to explore their romance, and declare their love for one another during the mid-season finale.
French accents, bold fashion statement and a will-they-won’t-they romance can only mean one thing: Emily In Paris is back
Emily finally makes her choice, as she and Gabriel finally choose to explore their romance, and declare their love for one another during the mid-season finale
In other relationship news, pregnant Camille and Athens-born Sofia, portrayed by Melia Kreiling, move in next door to Gabriel, but after struggling to make it work they end up going their separate ways.
The final episode ends in a shocking twist, as Camille goes to her gynaecologist for a check-up and learns the devastating truth that she was never expecting; the test was a false positive and her stress was behind her late period.
Emily hasn’t had the best luck with dating since relocating from Chicago to Paris in pursuit of her dream marketing job.
She fell for neighbour Gabriel despite the chef being in an on/off relationship with her close friend Camille.
And her romance with Brit Alfie came to a dramatic end when Camille refused to marry Gabriel in the series three finale, revealing she had always known about his hidden feelings for Emily.
There are secrets yet to be exposed including Camille’s affair with artist Sofia, which Emily knows about, but Gabriel remains unaware.
Plus, the major revelation of Camille’s pregnancy, which will leave any possible chance of a romance between Emily and Gabriel even harder to navigate.
Emily In Paris was created by Sex and the City writer Darren Star, who has admitted he understands why viewers have made comparisons between Lily’s character and Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker.
He said: ‘I get why people will link the two series. Each takes place in a glamorous city with a female lead but the idea of Emily In Paris was very different. I’ve wanted to write a show about an expatriate living in Paris for quite some time.’
In other relationship news, pregnant Camille and Athens-born Sofia, portrayed by Melia Kreiling, move in next door to Gabriel, but after struggling to make it work they end up going their separate ways
With Season 4 debuting on Thursday – and the L.A. premiere happening on Wednesday – the reviews are starting to file in, many of which are not positive.
A review from Leila Latif of The Guardian was perhaps the most brutal, calling the show a ‘televisual black hole’ that is, ‘devoid of plot, charisma and intrigue.’
The critic revealed she had viewed the first half of Season 4 – which debut on August 15 – with the second five-episode half dropping on September 12.
She insists that, ‘nothing happens,’ as the title character continues working as a marketing executive while getting involved in a love triangle with her co-worker Luc (Bruno Gouery) and roommate Mindy (Ashley Park).
The reviewer insists there is, ‘absolutely nothing at stake’ when it comes to the love triangle, with the ‘drama’ in the show coming from her professional life, though that appears to be a stretch too.
‘In every episode, she has to use her talent and sunny disposition to ensure social media strategies are executed with aplomb. To say that this is as thrilling as watching paint dry would be a disservice to the many excellent shades of paint,’ she says.
The critic adds there are several subplots involving, ‘missing people, #MeToo and Michelin stars,’ though they ultimately, ‘go nowhere.’
Another review from the Irish Independent was equally savage, calling this show’s version of Paris, ‘a theme park version of the City of Light.’
He touches on the show’s running gag that Emily does not speak French and even after four seasons makes no effort to learn the language, and yet everyone in Paris seems to love her, which would likely not be the case in the real Paris.
‘If this were the real Paris rather than a theme park version, Emily would get on everyone’s nerves. Instead, they all find her cute and adorable. Irresistible, too. Men fall at her feet on every street corner,’ critic Pat Stacey says.
The reviewer insists there is, ‘absolutely nothing at stake’ when it comes to the love triangle, with the ‘drama’ in the show coming from her professional life, though that appears to be a stretch too
Another point of contention in this review is how the show ignores the city’s racial and cultural diversity, adding, ‘this fantasy Paris is as whitewashed as Richard Curtis’s Notting Hill.’
However, another piece from The Guardian ‘s Joel Golby – while admitting the show is ‘terrible’ – thinks the time has come to ‘drop the beef’ with the show.
‘The point of Emily in Paris is that it isn’t for me – it’s not even particularly for people who are sitting upright – and once you see through all of that, you can: well, “enjoy” is not the right word, exactly. But you can at least appreciate Emily in Paris for what it is, which is: an unashamedly silly, soapy, Technicolor whirlwind of nonsense,’ he said.
‘It’s a make-work programme for beautiful people who can’t act and a show where, 30 episodes in and with 10 more pending, nothing significant has actually happened,’ he adds, though he realizes he’s ‘re-igniting’ his ‘beef’ after reflecting more, concluding, ‘It is beneath every single person who has ever watched it.’
