Season 4 of “Emily in Paris” treats the “Me Too” moment with surprising nuance
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Spoiler alert! The following story contains details from Part 1 of Season 4 of “Emily in Paris” on Netflix.
“Emily in Paris” has always been sassy, stylish and about as subtle as a McBaguette.
But the snappy Netflix sitcom is trying out a new, serious look and sensibly tackling a #MeToo story in the first half of its fourth season (now streaming). The new episodes devote plenty of screen time to Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), a tough-as-nails French marketing executive who is the boss of imaginative American expat Emily (Lily Collins).
In the season premiere, Sylvie receives a call from a journalist who wants to publish a story about widespread sexual misconduct by Louis de Leon (Pierre Deny), the head of the luxury brand JVMA. At first, Sylvie is hesitant to talk about her experiences of harassment, especially since her husband Laurent (Arnaud Binard) is planning to open a new nightclub with Louis.
But she also wants to be a role model for younger women so that they are not conditioned to simply accept the bad behavior of men. So Sylvie decides to go public with her accusations, forcing Louis to think about resigning from the JVMA by the end of Part 1.
For creator Darren Star, the challenge was to give such an important topic the importance it deserves without derailing the light-hearted, escapist comedy.
“We talked a lot about how we wanted to tell this story without trivializing it and without sacrificing the tone of the show,” says Star. “But the characters have also become more grounded and complex. That’s not something I would have wanted to do in Season 2, but in Season 4, the audience is ready to take any journey with these characters.”
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Sylvie shows her “strength” in season 4 of “Emily in Paris”
Like Star’s monumental HBO series “Sex and the City,” whose six seasons ended in 2004, “Emily in Paris” is known for its enviable, edgy fashion. But this season, Leroy-Beaulieu pushed for Sylvie to wear a more muted color palette.
“I said, ‘I want the fashion to be quieter because I want it to be more about the character inside,'” says the actress. “It was really interesting what we built up over three seasons, but I wanted people to pay more attention to what she was going through than to her clothes.”
This nuance was also reflected in the script. In a standout scene from the fourth episode of the new season, Laurent tenderly asks Sylvie why she never told him about Louis’s harassment. In a hushed but matter-of-fact manner, Sylvie explains succinctly that she “is not a victim. I worked my whole life to get to where I am now. I wanted to write my own story instead of being part of his.”
“I love that phrase,” says Leroy-Beaulieu. “It says so much about Sylvie and brave people. Obstacles are not there to destroy you, but to make you grow. Once you get out of the victim role, you will learn so much about your strength and all the gifts that come with overcoming difficulties.”
The Me Too story of the Netflix series is not a real “shift to the left”.
The five remaining episodes of the fourth season will premiere on September 12. Star announces JVMA as a “powerful new enemy” that will affect Sylvie’s business in the future. Emily’s best friend Mindy (Ashley Park) will also feel the effects: She is dating Louis’ son Nicolas (Paul Forman) and is torn about how to guide him through his father’s PR crisis without appearing complicit.
“Mindy is a very strong personality with strong ideas and a strong sense of self,” says Star. “At the same time, she has compassion for Nicolas and what he is going through, especially when it comes to family.”
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If you’re worried the show has suddenly gone dark, there’s still plenty of office fun, saucy love triangles, and postcard-worthy jaunts through Paris. And don’t forget: The series has tackled difficult topics since its debut in 2020.
“I feel like people say this is a turnaround for us,” says Andrew Fleming, executive producer and director of the series. “But I remember a scene in the first season with Emily on a bridge and they’re shooting a commercial. The woman is naked and Emily asks, ‘Is that sexist?’ And in season 1 they talk about #MeToo.”
“I feel like it’s in the DNA of the show to have that kind of storyline. At its core, it’s about women in the workplace.”
