Emily in Paris is getting attention from viewers because it comes from Darren Star, creator of Beverly Hills 90210 and Sex and the City. However, the French critics are not too happy with the series’ portrayal of Paris.
Emily in Paris follows the American girl, Emily, who becomes the new marketing executive in a French firm. She plans to induce the American perspective to boost the firm’s social media presence. Moreover, the job is not easy for Emily because of her very inadequate knowledge of the French language.
The French calls the series as embarrassing and deplorable
A lot of Parisians are unimpressed by the cliches and stereotypes found in the story. For one, the show has portrayed the city of lights as ideal and dreamy, when in reality, Paris is a very busy city. On the other hand, the French have described the series as deplorable and portrays a completely wrong image of Paris. Aside from that, the French are narrated “as arrogant, dirty, lazy, mean, bitter.”
lily collins’s selfies as emily cooper in ‘emily in paris’ pic.twitter.com/tV2xB0TbYC
— best of lily collins (@lcollinsarchive) October 6, 2020
On the other hand, a review from RTL explained that the series completely fantasized about Paris in each episode. Moreover, the series makes it hard for the Parisians to recognize their daily life in the first episodes. Journalist Aymeric Parthonnaud further stated:
“Rarely had we seen so many clichés on the French capital since the Parisian episodes of Gossip Girl or the end of the Devil wears Prada.“
The Parisian viewers found the series to be exaggerated and ridiculous, especially in Emily’s choice of clothes. It is even dubbed as a “parody of the nudity.” While the French viewers are giving the series negative reviews, the American viewers think otherwise. American viewers call the series as “strikingly watchable.”
“Emily in Paris” season 2 potential development
It might seem that producer Darren Star has to make the series agreeable to the French people. Star has already worked on the second installment. With the cliffhanger ending in season 1, there’s a lot of story direction to follow in season 2.
Emily in Paris takes a correct stance on the Gossip Girl finale pic.twitter.com/ltKjJL2Aeu
— Netflix (@netflix) October 2, 2020
To recall, season 1 reveals the growing relationship between the American girl, Emily, and the French chef, Gabriel. It might have been easy for Emily if Gabriel moves back to Normandy to pursue his dream of having a restaurant of his own. However, Gabriel decides to stay in Paris after Antoine becomes Gabriel’s investor.
Now, EP Star reveals that he wants to explore the story in season 2. He stated:
“That, to me, is such a fun thing to explore in Season 2, because these are not Americans. They’re French people. To me, a big part of the show is looking at everything through a different lens. Season 2 will open up some interesting and surprising relationship avenues.”
Emily in Paris season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
Image Courtesy of Netflix/YouTube Screenshot