C'est La Vie: Fiction to Real Life From Emily in Paris

Emily in Paris, a Netflix original series, has been adored by countless fans since its debut in 2020. Since its premiere of season four this past August, it has been renewed for the following season. The show centers around young advertising executive Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins, and follows her new life in Paris as she begins seemingly temporary work at an ad agency after her pregnant boss in America was unable to travel. The series dives into Cooper’s love life, intense job, friendships, and her adoration for the City of Romance. Emily in Paris has astounded viewers from all over the world and has won many awards and nominations for its unmatched comedy. Undoubtedly its setting in Paris, the wardrobe, and the lovable characters perfect its aesthetic appeal and make it one of my and many others favorite shows. Emily in Paris is not just a great comedy-drama to binge on a girls night; the show highlights that both Collins' and her beloved character depicts real life friendship, character change, and even advertising.

Emily’s best friend in the series, Mindy Chen, is played by Ashley Park. Her eccentric character meets Cooper, the new employee from America, while babysitting at the park. The two instantly become best friends and eventually roommates. Their friendship is truly iconic and they quickly emerged as one of the top dynamic duos on Netflix. However, Collins and Park literally forged a strong relationship upon meeting during the production of season one. Collins reflects that Park came into her life at the right moment just when they needed each other’s gift of friendship. She even jokes to E! News that Mindy is Emily’s one true soulmate in the show (DeGrazia, 2024). Their friend-chemistry in real life transfers right onto the screen. Through the episodes, Cooper and Chen are always loyal to one another, and the show would not be the same without their bizarre advice and adventures. Sincerely, Collins and Park exhibit that our best friends in life may come when we take a risk on our own, on and off the screen.

Just like any binge worthy show, this one has a lot of romance. Emily’s main love interest is Gabriel, played by French actor Lucas Bravo. Gabriel, although in an on again off again relationship with character Camille, he is swiftly enthralled by Emily when she moves into his apartment complex. The two begin a steamy relationship that unfortunately leads to heartbreak various times. Although in my personal opinion, I believe they will materialize as their one true love by the end of the series. Their attraction is incomparable and he is (albeit subconsciously) one of the reasons Cooper stays in Paris. Alternatively, Bravo’s character in season four becomes somewhat distant towards Emily in their relationship and spends more time with his ex-girlfriend who is supposedly pregnant with his child (which later turns out to be a false pregnancy). Gabriel does not seem like himself compared to previous seasons. He becomes torn with his relationship with Camille and Emily, leaving Collins’ character to find a new love elsewhere. Gabriel is devastated and tries to track down Emily who has now been positioned in Rome, the home of new love, Marcello Muratori, and location of the ad agency’s new office. Season 4 left viewers on a cliffhanger of where their love life lies, but also a question as to whether Lucas Bravo will return. His change in character on the screen reflects his change on the show’s meaning to him in reality. Bravo expresses the show may not stimulate him anymore, stating that the series’ depth is nowhere near deep enough for him. He claims the show undermines the intelligence of viewers and that his character’s relationship with Emily resembles a 90s romance cliche (Sarner, 2024). I hope, at least for my sake, that Bravo decides to stay for the good of the fans and not appear despondent like his character.

Stepping away from the characters, it is no secret that Emily Cooper has a knack for strategizing advertising campaigns in the show's fictional agency. However, she has also appeared in real life advertisements. Alongside displaying numerous items from renowned designers on cast members, Collins’ character can be seen in Shop with Google’s ad using Google lens. Emily Cooper is shown using the lens feature to shop for shoes while at a formal event (Deyo, 2024). Google lens has leveraged the popular character’s love of fashion to market their innovative shopping and search tool. Cooper’s impeccable talent is so great in the marketing sense that even her character broke the fourth wall to influence consumers.

Emily in Paris has become a comfort show staple for many Netflix users. Its lightheartedness and fun setting is what establishes it as successful and cherished by fans. Not only has the series created strong character stories, but they carry into reality, as well. And for the joy those have received from Emily in Paris, we say merci beaucoup!

References

Deyo, J. (2024, August 19). Netflix, Google team to bring Shoppable Integration To “emily in Paris.” Marketing Dive. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/netflix-google-shoppable-integration-emily-in-paris/724559/

DeGrazia, L. (2024, September 18). Emily in Paris’ Lily Collins has surprising pick for Emily Cooper’s one true love. E! Online. https://www.eonline.com/news/1407545/emily-in-paris-lily-collins-has-surprising-pick-for-emily-coopers-one-true-love

Sarner, L. (2024, October 25). “Emily in Paris” star Lucas Bravo hints he’s done with the show: “does not stimulate me.” New York Post. https://nypost.com/2024/10/25/entertainment/lucas-bravo-hints-hes-done-with-emily-in-paris-does-not-stimulate-me/

Graphic by Jolie Bellaff