I hate Emily in Paris, but I can’t stop watching-Josie Copson-Entertainment – Metro

It’s totally ridiculous, but I love hating on every moment of Emily (L) in Paris (Picture: Netflix)

Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) sits outside a Parisian café with her best friend Mindy Chen (Ashley Park) as they get into a lively discussion.

Our leading lady shares an honourable intention to focus on her job at a luxury marketing firm, rather than become distracted by choosing which love interest should be her boyfriend – the hot chef Gabriel, or man in finance Alfie.

After leaving the eatery, she immediately returns home to cook breakfast for Gabriel, only departing when her workplace calls asking where she is because she’s late.

It’s totally ridiculous, but I love hating on every moment of Emily in Paris.

The hit-Netflix show sees a young ambitious woman from Chicago get moved to the capital of France to ‘give the American perspective’ (whatever that means). Although initially she struggles to understand Paris – and vice versa – she quickly secures herself a hot love interest, kooky friendships, and borderline acceptance at work.

So naturally, she must stay.

I tuned into my first episode when it began in 2020 after the Netflix algorithm pushed the agenda hard. As the credits on the first episode began to roll, I decided it really wasn’t for me. And yet, when it asked me if I wanted to ‘Play next’, I immediately agreed.

(L to R) Lily Collins as Emily, Camille Razat as Camille in episode 302 of Emily in Paris (Picture: STÉPHANIE BRANCHU/NETFLIX)

Since then I have rolled my eyes when Emily dragged out her aforementioned love triangle longer than either man would reasonably accept if this wasn’t fictional.

I worried my eyes may get stuck looking at the ceiling permanently as her French gets worse the longer she lives in Paris (although as someone who runs out of their five hearts on Duolingo within minutes, I really shouldn’t judge).

I also mocked how her personal life always seems to be the perfect way to campaign a new product. Don’t get me started on her ability to do more life admin before arriving at the office than many of us manage to squeeze into a whole weekend.

I’m not the only one hating Emily in Paris.

Reddit threads are filled with comments such as ‘I love to hate-watch this show’ or ‘it’s so bad but I can’t stop watching’.

Then there’s TikTok. At the time of writing, there are almost 800,000 posts about the series and this number continues to climb.

My For You Page (FYP) is filled with videos poking fun at everything from Emily’s mediocre (at best) Instagram posts suddenly making her a micro-influencer, to the totally indiscreet McDonald’s product placement.

It’s not like critics have had any kinder things to say about it too, with the Guardian giving its latest episodes a measly one-star and remarked that it was ‘exciting as watching paint dry… if you really hate paint’. While The Wrap called it ‘repetitive chaos’ (which they acknowledged isn’t totally a bad thing).

And yet – despite it all – Emily In Paris has made it to its fourth series. On top of that, it shot into Netflix’s top 10 TV shows.

This is off the back of almost 60million people watching its first season in the first month on the platform in October 2020 and 117.6million hours of season three were consumed within seven days. It has also been nominated for Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Emmy awards.

Perhaps bad TV may just be the most alluring genre of all.

It seems many of us have taken up the hobby of hate-watching, but what makes it such a joyous experience, despite its shortcomings?

With so many bad things constantly going on in real life, I believe Emily In Paris’s success is proof that it’s a relief to watch a world where nothing bad truly happens.

Of course, there’s a place for TV that changes the world or educates us, but there’s also an appetite for a series that provides a little bit of escapism – even if it’s done a little clumsily. It’s the very definition of low-stakes.

Even if Emily makes the most abysmal decision, she’ll just lose a job for a couple of hours, enjoy a long lunch, and then be back on top.

Fantasy can be more appealing than reality, which is why when I took a recent trip to Paris, I ended up spending one evening sitting in my hotel room watching Emily In Paris.

The script includes lines that nobody would say outside of the show (Credits: STEPHANIE BRANCHU/NETFLIX)

Earlier in the day, my travel companion hit their head on a very clean glass door and we feared she could be concussed. On top of that, we booked the wrong day tickets for the Louvre, I got stuck in a corset in a Zara changing room, and the rain downfall was further dampening my spirits.

We needed the annoyance of Emily Cooper to distract us from our poor attempt at a chic weekend, and she was there for us. 

The script includes lines that nobody would say outside of the show, such as when she said perfume was like ‘wearing poetry’. I believe the series knows how bad it is, and invites everyone to be part of the joke.

The benefit of Emily, Mindy, Camille, Luc and Julian’s mistakes is that I often find myself thinking of all the ways I could have handled the situations better than the characters.

For instance, I would probably tell my ex-boyfriend I am not pregnant rather than continuing in a charade that is going to be discovered when a baby doesn’t arrive (I’m looking at you Camille). And I’d probably come up with some better puns for my Instagram captions than Emily.

For all these reasons and more, I’ll always say oui oui to another episode even if je deteste it.

As Sylvie and Emily have taught us, there’s a très thin line between love and hate.

Part one of Emily in Paris season 4 is available to watch on Netflix now. Part two is available to watch from September 12.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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