‘Emily in Paris’ Gets a Second Season (And A Slight Culture Awakening)

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When Emily in Paris made its Netflix debut last year – months deep into staying at home – there was hope that it’d be a show for the wanderlust or a form of vicarious television living that’d allot a few hours for the average viewer to mentally escape quarantine.

The hype around the series definitely showed up in numbers – according to the audience and measurement system Nielsen, it received 676 million watched minutes in its first week and made its way onto Netflix’s top ten show list. But what it immensely lacked in for many was an intriguing plot and a clue on how to appreciate French culture. Despite all of its felt insensitivity, clichéd stereotypes, and lack of racial diversity (there are only two characters of color who are pushed into tropes) that sparked backlash from viewers, the show is being renewed on Netflix for a second season that is set to change the above for the better – or at least for the sake of being open-minded.

Emily in Paris centers around Emily (played by Lily Collins), an American marketing executive who is transferred to Paris, France for work and is in charge of bringing an “American perspective” to a French firm’s social media strategy. While following her career, the show also trails Emily’s love and social life in Paris all while she grapples with navigating a new city. While the plot is light-hearted in theory, a few scrolls through Twitter or YouTube where commentary videos like this one titled Emily in Paris: Romanticizing Ignorance are common, it’s clear that the series missed the cultural mark with some of its commentary and portrayals.

But this was the plan along in what Darren Star, the producer of the show, sees as an attempt in character development. For me, it’s the evolution of the character…” he told Variety in an interview. “I think, perhaps, a lot of viewers who lived in Paris for a long time didn’t quite understand that this was through the lens of a character who was experiencing the city for the first time. That’s how she was perceiving it — she was really struck by the beauty that was all around her.” People who analyzed and critiqued Emily’s way of trifling with French society may be relieved (if only slightly) to hear that this season will see the protagonist more “assimilated, in terms of living in Paris and stepping up to the challenges of learning the language,” Star revealed.

Although there have been behind the scenes photos of the filming, the show’s second season neither has an official release date or preview nor further details about what will happen.

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createdAt:Mon, 10 May 2021 13:49:54 +0000
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