Emily in Paris Season 5 officially returned to Netflix on December 18.
We have the return of many beloved characters and some new faces to the show. too.
Having recently just watched the 10 episodes in this new season, here’s what I thought about it. Read on for my honest review.
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What is Emily in Paris Season 5 About?
We pick up exactly where we left off last time. Emily Cooper has landed in Rome, where she is now running Agence Grateau’s Italian branch. Thrown into a new city and a demanding new role, Emily is once again determined to prove herself, particularly now on unfamiliar ground.
While in Rome, she spends romantic, sun-soaked days with Marcello but is also involved in overseeing his family’s business and its marketing strategy. Emily and Marcello’s chemistry is strong – but their relationship soon gets messy after going into business together.
As Emily adapts to Italian work culture and higher expectations, she finds herself missing her friends and former colleagues back in Paris, including Alfie, Gabriel, Mindy, and the team she once relied on.
This season, Emily is bolder and more independent than ever, but beneath her confidence, she is also anxious and harbours a lot of self-doubt. While her love life appears to be flourishing, her career is increasingly on shaky ground. Emily must decide what she truly wants, and whether success abroad is really worth it.
In Emily in Paris Season 5, the cast includes Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu as Sylvie Grateau, Ashley Park as Mindy Chen, and Lucas Bravo as Gabriel.
Samuel Arnold returns as Julien alongside Bruno Gouery as Luc and William Abadie as Antoine Lambert. Lucien Laviscount reprises his role as Alfie, while Eugenio Franceschini joins the season as Marcello.
We also have Thalia Besson as Genevieve, Paul Forman as Nico, and Arnaud Binard as Laurent G.
Emily in Paris Review
This section of the post contains minor spoilers for Emily in Paris Season 5.
I really didn’t feel like this season did much to differentiate itself from previous ones. It felt like the same storylines recycled, just placed in different locations.
And while the season was undeniably visually pleasing – especially with the plot moving between Paris, Rome, and Venice – they didn’t make up for what this season lacked. Outside of the romance, there wasn’t much to keep me invested.
I didn’t particularly care for certain side plots, like Marcello opening up about his designs and leaving his family, or Nico – a barely-there character – suddenly returning to declare his love for Mindy. The season also felt a bit too male-driven for my liking. A once fun addition to the plot, I even found Alfie annoying. He felt off toward the end, coming across as oddly controlling when he wanted to get back with Emily.
Also, it’s painfully obvious what the writers intended to do with this season. As viewers, we are clearly not blind as we know that a Gabriel and Emily endgame would be teased.
At this point, it feels predictable, like dangling a carrot in front of viewers when we all know they’ll eventually give us exactly what we expect. I also didn’t understand the introduction of yet another love interest for Emily – the American guy Jake (an appearance from Bryan Greenberg) – as if she didn’t already have enough romantic storylines revolving around Emily already.
We have some new people like Minnie Driver, who played Princess Jane, who seemed a bit over the top but was also very funny. I have mixed feelings about her character.
However, I’m glad Camille wasn’t in this season, and Gabriel was largely absent too (I’m not hugely fond of his character anyway). I like that the light shone on Sylvie and seeing how much her dynamic with Emily had changed, in a good way.
At this point, Emily in Paris feels like it has evolved so much that it’s lost its original spark. I orginally loved watching Emily in a new city, figuring things out, being that eager beaver, and exploring new connections, which was refreshing. But now, as the show goes on, it’s lost its touch slightly.