I’ve seen one or two review titles say that if you miss Sex and the City (SATC), new series Emily in Paris (EIP) is here to help you out. As a long time fan of SATC and having now seen the new EIP series in full, I’d say that it’s at best a very loose comparison. Besides both SATC and EIP sharing a creator (Darren Star), the other similarities between the series feel very slight indeed.

Starring Lily Collins as Emily, a young American woman who’s hired by a marketing firm in Paris to provide an American perspective, the reason I watched the entire series isn’t so much because I think it’s great. I kept watching to ‘spend some time in Paris,’ a place I’d hoped to revisit in 2020.

The other reason is that I like Collins. And although the EIP story isn’t as well-written as one would hope, I found other elements that kept me watching. In other words, I blocked out all of Emily’s seemingly over the top and forced/exclamations to the generally loved elements of French cuisine, just so I could ‘stay in Paris.‘

Part of what made SATC so great, besides all the glamorous high fashion, the humour and its much-loved fifth star, the vibrant city of New York is the story of beautiful female friendships. There’s a little bit of that in EIP and room for improvement that a second season will hopefully deliver.

I know very well that EIP isn’t supposed to be SATC and it shouldn’t be. I’m just disappointed that it’s not at least as good in almost every way, including the fashion, which feels less exciting.

If Netflix confirm a second season of Emily in Paris, I’ll give it a chance in hopes that it will have improved. That way, my love of Paris and appreciation of Collins’s charm won’t be the main reason I keep watching, assuming I do. I mean, I probably definitely will.

Give Emily in Paris a chance if you’re very curious.

Happy Film Loving

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