(L to R) Lily Collins as Emily, Lucas Bravo as Gabriel. Stephanie Branchu/Netflix
Fans of Emily in Paris with questions about behind the scenes aspects of the show, such as filming challenges and technical secrets, are getting some major answers.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, director Andy Fleming reflected on his involvement with the show over the past four seasons. He also teased how the fourth season compares to what viewers have become accustomed to with the hit Netflix series.
“The episodes are much more complicated now. They are much more challenging, interesting and involved more creativity,” Fleming told Us before the first part of season 4 started streaming on Thursday, August 15. “But also the most important thing is that Emily [Lily Collins] was very young, naive, optimistic and kind of perky on the show. She’s a different person now.”
According to Fleming, Emily continues to evolve throughout season 4.
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“She’s more grown up since she’s a citizen of Paris and she’s more confident in herself. The big thing this season — which is very different from the other season — is it’s a little darker and it’s a little more mature,” he teased. “And we shot in winter so it was a different feel. We changed the director of photography and he embraced light and shadow more. It’s more the difference between light and dark.”
Emily in Paris, which debuted in 2020, follows Emily as she makes the move from the U.S. to France and the challenges that come with that. Emily specifically finds herself caught in a love triangle and season 4 shows her trying to face the truth about her romance with Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) and her feelings for Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), who’s about to become a dad.
Since Emily in Paris found success on Netflix, the show has been met with some unexpected challenges.
“[Filming in Paris means we have to] keep finding new places because we really don’t like to go back to the same places over and over — other than her apartment and her work. But Paris is such a labyrinthine ancient city. There is always another alley,” Fleming noted. “There’s always another cafe, another museum or another nightclub bar. There’s always more magic in Paris. We just have to find it.”
Keep scrolling for answers to burning questions about season 4 of Emily in Paris — and the show as a whole:
How Has the Show’s Fame Changed the Filming Experience?
Lily Collins as Emily, Lucas Bravo as Gabriel in ‘Emily in Paris.’ Stephanie Branchu/Netflix
“When we shot the first season, we had a tiny little crew and nobody knew who we were. Nobody bothered to even stop and look at what we were doing because we really looked like a little independent movie,” Fleming recalled. “Now when Lily is on location in Paris, it’s like Mickey Mouse or Santa Claus. It draws a crowd.”
The crew now has to take the fan enthusiasm into account, with Fleming adding, “We have to put up walls. We’re a big presence and we have a much larger crew now. It is different in that sense. The show was actually a very simple and innocent kind of show. We’ve tried to up the stakes — the dramatic stakes — and to make the set pieces bigger and more exciting.”
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Are There Concerns About Keeping Story Lines From Leaking?
Despite onlookers capturing footage of the filming process, the creative team behind Emily in Paris isn’t concerned.
“We know if we go on the street, people are going to pull out their phones. It’s just a given and we’re not upset by it because it means people are interested and people care,” Fleming explained. “Except for maybe one or two occasions, Parisians walk up and they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s Emily.’ They’re happy to see us.”
Fleming praised the “warmth” from the locals. “The French were taken aback by Americans coming and making a show there about them. But they have really embraced the show. I think all the places that we shoot, they’re very happy,” he continued. “In a weird way, I think they’re kind of proud of the show. It has certainly affected tourism there. It’s definitely been an advertisement for the city.”
What Are the Ways to Visually Differentiate Between Various Fictional Ships?
“The advantage of our approach is that it is more cinematic than a standard half-hour comedy. So we can shift gears. A moment can happen between Emily and Gabriel [Lucas Bravo]. That’s just purely visual,” Fleming explained. “We can do things like at the masquerade ball with magical realism as everybody disappears around them. That is a very complicated shot. Doing those two effect shots took up half that day and you don’t usually have the luxury of that time in a regular 30 minute comedy.”
Fleming praised the writing team, saying, “It’s really where are they going emotionally and they go to a deeper, more emotional place this year in good and bad ways. That’s what’s exciting about that relationship this year is that it’s much more emotional.”
What Are Some Fun Behind the Scenes Secrets About ‘Emily in Paris’?
(L to R) Lily Collins as Emily, Ashley Park as Mindy. Courtesy of Netflix
“The staircase outside of her apartment is a set. But because it’s so tall, we have to separate it from her apartment. So her apartment’s here and the staircase is over there,” Fleming told Us. “People are always surprised that her apartment is a set, but Sylvie’s [Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu] apartment is a real apartment that we keep going back to.”
Fleming also broke down the moment when Emily tracked down Camille (Camille Razat), adding, “When they fall into the pond, the close-ups of the girls after they’d fallen we did on a sound stage because we didn’t want them getting into this really mucky and muddy pond.”
He concluded: “We don’t shoot that much on sound stages. We are really out there every day. So we’re like an army marching on Paris.”
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Are There Filming Challenges When It Comes to Being on Location?
(L to R) Jin Xuan Mao as Etienne, Ashley Park as Mindy, Kevin Dias as Benoit. Courtesy of Netflix
“We do draw a lot of attention so we have to be really careful. We have to be able to control things and Paris is a complicated city. You have to book locations really far in advance further than you would in New York or Los Angeles,” Fleming shared with Us. “But the truth is, there are very few disadvantages in Paris.”
The best part of bringing the show to life on location has been Paris itself.
“The crew are amazing. We’ve been blessed to have a lot of the same crew over and over. Everybody cares about it being good and they’re committed to making it work. The French crew never lose their temper and are very sweet,” he continued. “[And the extras] show up and they’re the most amazing interesting people. They’re really good, very professional and committed. The level of craft and professionalism in Paris is very, very high. It’s a pleasure to shoot the show there. It really is.”
Have Any Scenes Ever Been Cut From the Show?
Surprisingly, there haven’t been “any significant scenes” that didn’t make it into the final cut.
“Things do get cut out. But generally the scenes that get cut out are there because they’re not necessary,” he detailed. “They’re sort of in-between scenes that maybe tell the same information that another scene did. There really is no example of something really juicy that got cut out that I can think of. We’re pretty careful about that.”
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How Has He Created the World of ‘Emily in Paris’ From Season to Season?
Fleming has been with Emily in Paris since the show debuted in 2020. As a result, he has helped craft the vision for the show.
“This show is interesting because it has this very expansive style. You can really do a lot with this show and it still works. So my job is always when we bring other directors in to encourage them to bring their stuff,” he noted. “I was saying, ‘Fly your freak flag. Come up with a crazy shot because Paris is a big city.’ Emily’s style is big and her personality is big. So the style of the show is too.”
While looking back at some of the show’s most memorable scenes, Fleming expressed his love for big sequences.
“There’s a couple of sequences in the last half of season 4 that I think are my favorite things I’ve ever done on the show. The big location things [are my highlights] but there’s also just little scenes between the characters that end up being my favorite scenes,” he continued. “It’s just about the actors and the lines and the story. That ends up being more spectacular to me than a big sequence because I connect to it emotionally.”