Lily Collins is small and looks younger than her thirty years. She plays the title role of Emily, a marketing executive, who we first meet working at a firm in Chicago. The company has acquired a Paris subsidiary and Emily's boss is about to move there when she discovers she's pregnant. Emily has to take on the role at the last minute, and with practically no French.
The premise is good and the way French is introduced works nicely, but the execution overall is let down by fairly weak characterisation, especially for the supporting cast in Paris.
Sylvie, played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, who's billed at number two for the series, is a particular issue. She's the manager at the Paris agency, resentful of Emily's presence and everything she represents especially about the importance of social media. Sylvie has parallels to Meryl Streep's role in The Devil Wears Prada. But Streep's character fizzed with a mixture of bullying, brittle malevolence and disguised vulnerabilities. She owned the screen and commanded your attention. Sylvie, by comparison, just seems shallow, rude and annoying. Perversely, her English, after first episode, seems too good for someone who sits firmly on the Parisian side of the culture clash that is often a central theme of the show.
The Paris nanny, Mindy, ostensibly Chinese but actually, again, a little too American is also rather shallow, while the chef, Gabriel - a major love interest for Emily - is more convincing.
The work of the Paris agency is often important to the plot, but the team of beautiful people just seem to flit from one superficial PR event to to the next via influencers, followers, promotions and social media campaigns often consisting of a single slogan - all of this honoured with the rather lofty title marketing. Maybe this is fairly realistic, but Lily's constantly changing stream of designer outfits - perhaps a little product placement - seems unreal and distracting.
Paris itself is loved, but the citizens get a pretty rough ride - lazy, rude, promiscuous, sexist, and constantly smoking indoors even though this is now illegal. At times they're even singled out from other French people who are seen more sympathetically. I couldn't say how much this is stereotype and how much reality, but it's as unremittingly negative as Emily is unremittingly upbeat.
This is no Sex in the City yet, but overall the series is watchable and undemanding. If you're short on time you might check just episodes 1 and 8 (which is set outside Paris). I think these two would stand alone. The last episode is also satisfactory and the story might bear a second series, especially if there are a couple of changes. 6.5/10.
The premise is good and the way French is introduced works nicely, but the execution overall is let down by fairly weak characterisation, especially for the supporting cast in Paris.
Sylvie, played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, who's billed at number two for the series, is a particular issue. She's the manager at the Paris agency, resentful of Emily's presence and everything she represents especially about the importance of social media. Sylvie has parallels to Meryl Streep's role in The Devil Wears Prada. But Streep's character fizzed with a mixture of bullying, brittle malevolence and disguised vulnerabilities. She owned the screen and commanded your attention. Sylvie, by comparison, just seems shallow, rude and annoying. Perversely, her English, after first episode, seems too good for someone who sits firmly on the Parisian side of the culture clash that is often a central theme of the show.
The Paris nanny, Mindy, ostensibly Chinese but actually, again, a little too American is also rather shallow, while the chef, Gabriel - a major love interest for Emily - is more convincing.
The work of the Paris agency is often important to the plot, but the team of beautiful people just seem to flit from one superficial PR event to to the next via influencers, followers, promotions and social media campaigns often consisting of a single slogan - all of this honoured with the rather lofty title marketing. Maybe this is fairly realistic, but Lily's constantly changing stream of designer outfits - perhaps a little product placement - seems unreal and distracting.
Paris itself is loved, but the citizens get a pretty rough ride - lazy, rude, promiscuous, sexist, and constantly smoking indoors even though this is now illegal. At times they're even singled out from other French people who are seen more sympathetically. I couldn't say how much this is stereotype and how much reality, but it's as unremittingly negative as Emily is unremittingly upbeat.
This is no Sex in the City yet, but overall the series is watchable and undemanding. If you're short on time you might check just episodes 1 and 8 (which is set outside Paris). I think these two would stand alone. The last episode is also satisfactory and the story might bear a second series, especially if there are a couple of changes. 6.5/10.