One bizarre decision completely ruined Emily In Paris Season 4 Part 1

If you’re into superficial romantic drama, Emily in Paris always scores douze points. But perplexingly, Season 4 Episode 1 treads territory it isn’t equipped to deal with. 

It’s hot, everything is too expensive, and the Paris Olympics are heartbreakingly over. So why not settle down and enjoy some streamable culture of an evening? This month, that involves watching an American, who still doesn’t know any French, dump two Parisian boyfriends at once.

I’m talking about Emily in Paris Season 4, of course, where ludicrous fashion choices meet an equally ludicrous web of lovers. When we catch up with Emily after the Season 3 cliffhanger, she is finally making her way toward the choice we already know she’ll make: falling for Gabriel… again. 

This kind of trashy love affair is exactly what Emily in Paris is good at. There’s a decent market for it (look at Virgin River and any other number of hallmark movies Netflix has picked up), and the stories are mindless escapism.

However, Emily in Paris wouldn’t stray into territory it didn’t know enough about, say, the intricate lore of the Eurovision Song Contest, would it?  Because they’d obviously be out of their depth wouldn’t they? Right? Wrong! Season 4 attacks Eurovision with vigor in Episode 1, only to conveniently drop it after half an hour in favor of other storylines. Frankly, the whole thing has me vexed. 

Cross Eurovision fans at your own peril

If you’re a hardened Eurovision nerd like myself, you’ll know there’s a longstanding yet unspoken agreement that America needs to leave the contest alone. They tried having their fun in 2022 with the American Song Contest, which went down like a sack of spuds before being canceled. 

America could compete, technically – they contribute to the European Broadcasting Union, as per contest rules – but we don’t want to invite them to the party.

At face value, this feels harsh. The US of A has contributed so much to global culture, and Emily in Paris is the pinnacle of the streamable rom-com these days. However, you can feel America’s influence over every inch of the entertainment we consume. And as brilliant as that is, it’s exactly what Eurovision can’t afford to be influenced by.

Unless you grew up in Europe watching year after year of the most unhinged performances possible, you won’t be able to properly understand the sheer chaos of it. There are lots of intricate rules – only six people are allowed on stage at once, they all must be singing live, songs must pass checks before being submitted as an entry – yet at the same time absolutely anything goes (humor me and Google Verka Serducka at this point).

I promise you there’s no other time you’d find a group of Russian babushkas singing about their bread cooking in the oven, tripping over on stage, and still taking second place. Eurovision is a culture all its own, blending caricatures from across Europe into one never-ending camp dance fest. It’s unlike anything else on TV, and preserving its roots is the reason why.

Its fanbase is fiercely loyal to the contest (remember the carnage when Australia joined for the 60th anniversary and then never left?), and to cross them is to unleash furor. The easiest way of doing that? Not knowing your history. 

Emily in Paris can’t just make Eurovision happen 

This is why it’s then so surprising that Emily in Paris would pick up the contest thread. In Season 4 Episode 1, Mindy (Ashley Park) decides she wants to enter Eurovision, seemingly knowing nothing about what happens or how it works. Trying to raise funds for entry, she sings Kiki Dee’s ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ as a means of showing off her Europop skillset. Except… a famous American song isn’t going to do that.

I can hear you saying, “Jasmine, you idiot! Will Ferrell is American and made a great movie about the contest.” And that he did. However, there are two reasons why this worked. At no point did Ferrell try to shoehorn Eurovision into something else – the man did his homework, and then some. Including contestants from years gone by, he honored the spirit of the contest in a comedic yet appreciative way. He also has a Swedish wife, and you might have noticed him in the crowd watching the final earlier this year. That’s how much he loves it. 

We don’t see that here. One issue with Emily in Paris is that its take on French culture is marketed through the eyes of Americans who grew up thinking it was the height of sophistication. Even their McDonalds is seen in episodes supposedly having more class in a single fry. Of course, this approach is part of the show’s specific charm… but it also can’t pick and choose what to feature if there’s little research behind the scenes. 

Clearly, Mindy getting to Eurovision is something Emily in Paris Season 4 is going to pick up again when it feels like it (there’s no real answer to why it got dropped one episode in), but the damage has already been done. By not honoring or understanding what it’s getting itself into, the new TV show has tanked whatever European credibility it has left. Maybe they should have tried out Olympic breakdancing instead…

The first half of Emily in Paris Season 4 is streaming now. For more Netflix updates, check out Virgin River Season 6, Stranger Things Season 5, and Heartstopper Season 3. You can also find new TV shows streaming.