Oh Paris – how elegant and charming you are! We don’t need a TV show to tell us that but Netflix’s new hit series certainly makes it easy to fall in love with ‘the most romantic city in the world’ all over again. The small cafes with tables overlooking the riverbank, the picturesque neighbourhoods with cobbled streets, the stylish French women with baguettes and flowers. Wouldn’t it be the dream to be sent there for work for a whole year? That’s what happens to Emily Cooper, played by Lilly Collins, an American discovering fashion, culture, love and wine in Paris.

In the first four minutes of episode one in ‘Emily in Paris’, the premise is set. When Emily’s boss in Chicago has to turn down a position to work with a French marketing firm, she’s the lucky gal who gets sent there to be the American voice of reason. The very next clip is of the Paris we all know, Emily passing by the Champs Elysée and the Eiffel Tower in a taxi snapping pictures.

Her role is to offer an American point of view on marketing and social media strategies and the French aren’t too happy about it. Her boss Sylvie, played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, ticks all the French stereotypes. Elegant, fashionable and cold. But Parisians aren’t particularly known for being friendly, are they?

“The food, so delicious. The fashion, so chic. The lights, so magical. But the people…so mean,” says Emily’s first friend in Paris, Mindy. So, there are a few stereotypes in the series, the luxury hotels, the endless champagne, the chic clothes yet it’s all part of the charm. And it’s working because ‘Emily in Paris’ became one of the most popular Netflix shows of 2020, even though it was only launched in October, and has been scheduled for a second season. Its creator, Darren Star, certainly knows a thing or two about successful TV shows as he was behind another hit series – ‘Sex and the City’.

Shot entirely on location in Paris and the rest of France, the show paints the most beautiful French postcard with its share of love triangles, fashion shows and impeccable vistas. Watching it during a time when travelling is a distant dream, ‘Emily in Paris’ definitely gets your wanderlust going. It sent my travel bug through the roof!

Though it’s not just the picturesque setting that makes the show so charming and easy to watch. Emily’s go-get attitude is invigorating, despite the language and culture barriers and her snobby coworkers who make her life difficult. Emily never gives up. Instead, she has a thirst for life. Even when her coworkers ‘mean girl’ her, she sends them a penis-shaped cake!

Though it’s not very 2020, ‘Emily in Paris’ is certainly current with all its Instagram posts, influencers and likes that even reaches the First Lady of France with Emily’s famous post “le vagin n’est pas masculine!” meaning “vaginas are not male!”

For the French, it is perhaps a glorified, stereotypical experience of Paris. Yet this is an American show, not a French one and with the current state of the world, any dreamy, light-hearted tale is a brilliant escape. It’s fun, entertaining and cheery and that’s why people love it. For as long as I can’t get on a plane to eat pain au chocolat at cute Parisian cafes, I’ll be daydreaming with Emily in Paris.