The “Sex and the City” boss tells TheWrap why he wanted to expand the Netflix show’s footprint and reveals the central question for the next installment.
Note: This story contains spoilers from the “Emily in Paris” Season 4 Part 2 finale.
“Emily in Paris” might need a name switch after the Season 4 finale saw Emily Cooper choose to make her trip to Rome permanent to head up the Italian office of Agence Grateau.
After Part 1 saw Emily (Lily Collins) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) finally get together, their relationship was pulled apart just as soon as it began, with Emily moving on to Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini) by the end of Part 2. Her budding new romance was seen as a business opportunity to Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), who hoped to strike a deal with Marcello’s family business and avoid their impending partnership with JVMA.
Despite the family’s reluctance, Agence Grateau won the deal, making an Italian office for the agency a necessity. Sylvie then hand picked Emily to be the one to run the show. The season ended with Emily settling into her new Roman home, which series creator Darren Star said “organically … expands the world of the show.”
“I had this idea that it would be great to expand the footprint of the show for the European country, and thought Italy was a perfect place to do it,” Star told TheWrap. “I love the idea that there’s not just a cultural clash between Americans and Italians, but also between [the] French and Italians.”
While “Emily in Paris” has not formally received a Season 5 renewal at the time of this interview, Star said a potential new installment would revolve around “how Rome is going to change Emily.”
But Star wants to assure fans that a possible Season 5 would still spend time in Paris. “Ideally, we’d spend time in Rome and Italy,” Star said. “But definitely we’re not leaving Paris behind.”
Below, Star unpacked Gabriel’s wakeup call to go after Emily in the finale, revealed whether we’ll see Camille in future seasons and how long he envisions the Netflix series to continue.
Eugenio Franceschini as Marcello, Lily Collins as Emily in “Emily in Paris” (Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix)
TheWrap: Gabriel had been distant from Emily since their breakup, but seems rattles when he hears she’s moving to Italy in the finale. Why was this the wakeup call he needed to go after her?
Darren Star: I think he realized that he wasn’t even aware of the fact that she left and how disconnected they’d become. He’s met the guy; he realizes the circumstances under which they met, and I think he just didn’t understand how fast things had moved between them.
Why did you want Alfie to be the one to encourage Gabriel to go after Emily?
Throughout the season, I think there was a little bit of tension between Alfie and Gabriel. In the end, Alfie realized that Emily and Gabriel maybe are meant to be together, and when he realizes that they aren’t because of whatever miscommunications or complications, I think ultimately he wants what he thinks is best for Emily.
It was also a fun surprise to see Sylvie’s Italian roots. Why did you want to layer in some backstory for her there, and will we see this love interest again?
I think we will probably see more of that in Rome with Sylvie. There were references to the idea that Rome was Sylvie’s favorite city in previous episodes, previous seasons of “Emily in Paris,” so we hinted at the fact that she had a little bit of history in Rome. That was always part of her backstory, in my mind — that she had been a bit of an Italian connection.
By the end of Season 4, Camille seems pretty disconnected from Emily and Gabriel. Will we still see Camille in future seasons?
I think she’s always going to be part of the series — she’s part of their world and I would never rule out the fact that we’re going to see her again. Her story is going to continue.
The character of Genevieve shook things up in Part 2. Why did you want her to enter the scene and be a little bit of a rival for Emily?
We sort of learn more and more about Sylvie. She has a history and this is part of her history, and part of her history with her husband. I think Genevieve is kind of, in a way, a much younger version of Emily, and not necessarily a rival.
Do you think Gabriel had any feelings for Genevieve or was his breakup with Emily too fresh to pursue anything new?
I’m not sure. I think Genevieve may have been a little smitten with Gabriel, but I’m not sure how reciprocated those feelings are.
In your mind, are Emily and Gabriel end game?
I don’t know what endgame is, so it’s hard to know how things develop.
We loved seeing Debi Mazar from “Younger” make an appearance in the finale. How did that cameo come together?
It’s a little fun Easter egg. I worked with her; she’s a friend of mine. There was this idea that we would have this commercial and this glamorous retro Italian actress appearing in it and and Debi happens to live in Florence, so she was right nearby. So I asked her if she would come and do it.
How long do you envision making “Emily in Paris?”
It’s hard to put endings on series — they kind of tell you when it’s time for them to end. I’m not sure. There’s no definitive stop. We’ll see — I feel like the world of the show keeps expanding, so that makes you feel creatively that there’s more story to tell.
Are there any places in Italy you’re looking forward to filming?
Oh, sure. Italy’s an amazing country. Too many places to really consider here in Italy, certainly more than for a Season 5.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Emily in Paris” Seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Netflix.
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