Why so many people love the terrible ‘Emily in Paris’ – Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Golden Globes might have avoided scrutiny if it hadn't made one glaring mistake: It slobbered over "Emily in Paris."

According to a scathing report from the Los Angeles Times, voters were flown into France and pampered on set. They subsequently gave two major nominations to the series, which was panned by many critics, including me.

That, along with the lack of Black representation in its membership, led to NBC dropping coverage of the 2022 award ceremonies and for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to do a major overhaul.

But then something even weirder happened. The more prestigious Academy of Arts & Sciences granted the sitcom an Emmy nomination for outstanding comedy series.

Did I miss something? No. But after watching the entire second season, now streaming on Netflix, I have a better understanding of why certain viewers fell in love.

For those who have avoided the show, a quick recap: Emily (Lily Collins) is a marketing executive who makes the temporary move to France in hopes of fattening up her resume and landing a promotion back home in Chicago.

She winds up spending most of her time abroad wriggling out of one mess after another. It's like Lucy Ricardo's European vacation but without the physical shtick.

"Ever since I moved to Paris, my life has been chaotic and dramatic and complicated," Emily says in one of the new episodes.

For viewers who prefer "The Bachelor" to Marvel movies, this is the ultimate in fantasy TV.

Emily gets to choose among three suitors: an aristocrat who can afford first-class accommodations for a weekend getaway in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, a gourmet chef and a hottie who looks like the dude from "Bridgerton."

Her wardrobe, which boasts more colors than a bag of Skittles, wouldn't fit into Carrie Bradshaw's closet. Emily snags front-row seats at both fashion shows and male strip clubs. Workdays seem to revolve around martini lunches.

Her best friends are the daughter of one of China's richest tycoons and the heir to a Champagne company. In an upcoming scene, one of those friends ends up singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" aboard a yacht. In another, our hero tools by the Louvre in a Vespa. Ooh la la.

To make the trip even more luxurious, everyone around her seems perfectly willing to speak English.

If you're not swooning, you're not the audience for "Emily." You're also not creator Darren Starr's target audience. As he did with "Melrose Place" and "Sex and the City," Starr has built a Utopia for those who would rather go on high-end shopping sprees than fight alongside the Avengers. The Hollywood elite are not immune to this catnip.

There are some fun twists in the new episodes.

Kate Walsh ("Private Practice") makes a great nemesis when she enters as an executive determined to shake up the French branch of her company. There's also an amusing battle between fashion designers that could have been lifted from "America's Next Top Model."

Collins is seven kinds of adorable, although I can't help wondering what a more adept comic actor like Zooey Deschanel would have done with the role.

But let the "Emily" fans have their fun. Let's just not pretend the show is anything more than candy corn masquerading as a macaron.

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Why so many people love the terrible 'Emily in Paris' - Minneapolis Star Tribune