Darren Star knew what he was doing when he delivered Emily In Paris to a world sorely in need of mind-candy content. Quite like the characters of this series find it difficult to stay irritated with Emily Cooper, the show’s audience cannot resist Lily Collins‘ inexplicably irresistible fashionista. The forgivably formulaic show did, however, deliver an unexpected twist in the fourth season finale, which saw Emily assigned by Agence Grateau to stay in Italy. Emily also has a new boyfriend in Rome, which suggests the chance that her six-month assignment could turn into more.
Viewers quickly began to wonder if the series would change its name to Emily In Rome, which does not seem to be the case, but that hasn’t stopped world leaders from exchanging words over the issue. Really.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who must not be satisfied after watching Paris put on an extremely metal Olympics, passionately insisted that the show must stay in France. Perhaps he has a vested interest after First Lady Brigitte Macron made a fourth season cameo, but Emmanuel told Variety (with zero followup on whether he was kidding), “We will fight hard. And we will ask them to remain in Paris! ‘Emily in Paris’ in Rome doesn’t make sense.”
Macron’s discussion of this important diplomatic matter begins around the 2:30 mark below:
Did this turn into a war of words? Maybe. Roberto Gualtieri, mayor of Rome, stirred the pot in response on X/Twitter: “Don’t worry: Emily is doing very well in Rome. And then you can’t control your heart: let’s let her choose.”
Gualtieri then spoke with Hollywood Reporter to express his hope that the French president was “joking,” and he asked, “Doesn’t President Macron have more pressing matters to worry about?” Oh, he wasn’t done yet:
“For example, there a couple of wars going on in Ukraine and in the Middle East, there is a horrible hurricane that hit America and which is linked to climate change, and a few other matters of state in Europe for Macron that are more important than Emily, I imagine … We see Emily’s move to Rome as a confirmation that our city is becoming more and more important, and we are quite relaxed about Netflix production decisions. They know what they are doing. To be honest, we think Mr. Macron should just relax.”
Darren Star must be enjoying this discussion so much. Good for him, but what can we expect from the fifth season?
Plot
Likewise, the fifth season plot will involve at least one character attempting to lure Emily back to France. Sure, Mindy seemed semi-fine with her roommate’s decision to stay in Rome for her job, but Gabriel kind-of lost his sh*t upon hearing the news, and he later showed up to demand that Mindy let him know exactly where Emily is. And that’s nuts, really, because Emily made it clear that his attachment to Camille made her feel like a “mistress,” which is fair because even without a baby in the picture for Gabriel (due to Camille’s revelation of a false pregnancy), he spends holidays with Camille’s fam. It would always be an awkward arrangement, but Gabriel (who also needs a haircut) also doesn’t seem to care about Emily’s needs, only what he wants.
Let him stay dumped, lady.
Emily has also moved on with Marcello, who conveniently lives near Rome, where they will likely be working together as well to market his family business. As Sophie pointed out, Emily is very good at mixing business with pleasure, and that’s probably 75% of the plot as with other seasons, but if Netflix publicizes a different plan for the fifth season, we’ll be all over it.
Cast
Eugenio Franceschini will return as Marcello, and a love triangle has now shifted in favor of Emily (Lily Collins) rather than Gabriel (Lucas Bravo). The continuing cast, unless word surfaces otherwise, will include Ashley Park as Mindy, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu as Sylvie, Bruno Gouery as Luc, Samuel Arnold as Julian, and William Abadie as Antoine. Lucien Laviscount’s Alfie will hopefully continue living his best life, and Camille Rabat’s Camille will perhaps be doing things on her own and for herself.
Release Date
Emily In Paris could be back in late 2025, but 2026 sounds like a more likely possibility.
Trailer
Since we won’t see a trailer for awhile, please relive this moment where Marcello unknowingly lets Gabriel know that he’s a giant “jerk.” Oh boy.