PARIS – Emily in Paris fans will be in for a few surprises in their Christmas stockings when the third season of the hit series hits Netflix this Wednesday.
Even the cast were shocked by the number of cliffhangers in the new series when they first read the scripts.
“I wonder how we’re going to film everything—like, what?” says Lily Collins, who portrays the eponymous American marketing executive making her social media presence felt in France.
“But it was a real ride. It was a real roller coaster ride. And it was really fun, too,” she adds.
The third season offers more career opportunities, designer dilemmas and romantic revelations for the fashionable female protagonist.
Though Lucas Bravo – who portrays Emily’s full-time neighbor and occasional love interest, chef Gabriel – reckons she’s not the only one struggling on this series.
“Before, it was just Emily’s chaos,” says Bravo. “Now everyone has their own story with their own mess. And it’s a big soup of chaos and drama.”
The first season came out in October 2020, followed by a second last December. Three years after playing their characters, the cast want to point out where their roles begin and end.
Collins – who is also an executive producer – says she’s always blended in France better than Emily because she actually knows the language and culture.
Which leads to tongue twisters at Emily’s questionable French pronunciation.
“It’s a bit difficult to pretend you don’t know how to say something,” Collins explains. “Pronouncing it wrong over and over again is like… I just want to answer it in full in French. So it’s difficult.”
Kate Walsh plays Emily’s American boss, Madeline, and she wants everyone to know that her taste in clothes is very different from her bold and colorful character.
“I would never dress like that. But I love it because it’s critical to the character,” says Walsh.
Likewise, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu claims there’s a big difference between her and her role as Sylvie, Madeline’s chic Parisian business rival.
Leroy-Beaulieu says she’s nowhere near as snobby, although Sylvie’s cocky attitude is “so much fun.”
But Bravo reckons all the actors are more like their characters than they realize: “What’s so good about (Showrunner) Darren (Stars)’ cast is that he always finds actors who are the essence of the characters.” So there is always a part of us in every character.”
“I don’t know what the differences are. I think I would admit my mistakes a little more than Gabriel. But we are very similar in many ways, in terms of vulnerability, femininity and sexuality in general,” he jokes.
The third season will consist of 10 episodes.
“If you like chaos, you’ll be served,” promises Bravo.
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