It doesn’t take long to realize that Emily in Paris (Lily Collins) has no clue what she’s doing. The Netflix show follows a clueless young American woman who walks into a culture with which she’s made no effort to familiarize herself; when she first meets her downstairs neighbor, Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), he tells her he’s from Normandy, and this woman straight-up says, “Oh, I know that beach; Saving Private Ryan, right?” Do you really want French people thinking you’re an ignorant American who gets her country’s history from a 1998 Tom Hanks movie? Maybe check in with yourself before flippantly referencing a World War II battle that killed thousands of people.
Despite Emily’s fumbles, you have to admit her journey is relatable to any American who studied abroad in Europe when they were young and stupid. Yes, Emily is supposed to be an adult woman from Chicago with a Masters degree and disdain for Lou Malnotti’s deep dish. But she’s living a glamorous life in Paris in 2020 while the rest of us are getting fall-themed face masks shilled to us by Instagram. As my friend Laura put it on Twitter, “Emily in Paris, rest of us in hell.”
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Not only does this tweet describe the experience of watching the show, but it simultaneously accepts that the series is our best option for escaping real life in 2020. Emily gets to run around Paris and go to restaurants; have awkward, inappropriate interactions with her boss; and bang many mediocre men without a care in the world. She doesn’t have to quarantine for two weeks before going to her parents’ for the weekend or wear a mask as she makes any of her dozens of terrible choices. Emily is free to be an ignorant American in Paris, and that is reason enough to watch this show.
Now, the real question is: When will there be more?
Season 2 hasn’t been confirmed yet.
As Vulture notes, it’s not actually up to Netflix to green light a second season of the show. It was originally developed for TVLand and then shifted to Paramount Network. ViacomCBS struck a deal with Netflix to air the show there, but as Good Housekeeping reports, power for renewal might lie with ViacomCBS, not Netflix.
As for Collins, she’s ready to dive into next season. “All of us are incredibly grateful,” she told HarpersBAZAAR.com. “And the cast and crew, we’re really hoping to get the green light for Season 2.”
But there’s hope, and the script could be refreshingly queer.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Bravo hinted at the possibility of a second season. He said that the first season has “planted a few seeds about different characters.” This is where it gets interesting: “Like Camille, when she kisses Emily on the mouth, and she’s like, ‘I’m not sorry.’ And then when they’re in bed, and I’m liking the picture, it’s all little seeds,” he explained. “Anything could happen between the three of them. I think Darren wants this second season to be really open-minded.”
In an interview with Vogue U.K., Collins said, “there are tons of little moments where you’re like, ‘…Does Camille like Emily?’ You can’t really get a vibe, and I feel like that ambiguity is what keeps Emily intrigued. I think anyone in that position would be like, you’re my friend, but now I have this romantic connection [with Gabriel], and I don’t want to hurt you, but… Oh my God! So, you know what, it’s really confusing. I feel like the next season will only create more love triangle drama, although maybe Emily will have a little bit of a stronger handle on the situation… Or maybe not.”
I don’t know about you, reader, but I definitely wasn’t sorry when that Emily-Camille kiss happened. Are Bravo and Collins suggesting the show might take on a polyamory plot line? Emily did say, “I usually prefer men.” So there’s a little room to mix things up, Em? Dear god, let’s hope so.
Escapism is the appeal, after all.
Bravo, who told Cosmo he’s fully aware that French critics panned this show, does see the value in its escapism. And that could very well mean we’ll get more of it.
“People want to travel,” he said. “Reality is so rough these days, and we’ve been going through such a difficult time that I think the show is so lighthearted, it’s so colorful, the fashion, the romance, the traveling,” the actor said. “Darren Star’s vision is so colorful and alive and funny. People needed something to just escape.”
It’s pretty clear that we’re going to be need something light, fun, and meaningless to distract us for some time. Might as well be Emily bopping around Paris!
Emily will grow up a bit in season 2.
If and when Emily does return, creator Darren Star says she’ll be more settled into life in Paris than she is now. “In season 2, she’s going to be more of a part of the fabric of the world she’s living in. She’ll be more of a resident of the city,” Star told OprahMag.com. “She’ll have her feet on the ground a little more. She’s making a life there.”
Does this mean she will be less of an embarrassment to Americans? Time will tell!
It’s gonna take a while.
Emily in Paris was actually filmed in Paris, and with the pandemic gumming up the works of literally everything, this might mean a delay in filming for a second season. Some casts are starting to film in little quarantine pods, but time will tell if Collins and co. do the same.
Until then, au revoir, Emily! Read a history book!
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