Emily in Paris star Lily Collins is at the center of yet another love triangle — this time between European political powers, French President Emmanuel Macron and Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, over the show’s relocation for its fifth season.
The popular romance series, returning to Netflix Thursday, is briefly ditching its titular location for the Italian capital. The surprising announcement was made last year, prompting Macron to vow that he would “fight hard” to keep the show in Paris. “We will ask them to remain in Paris! Emily in Paris in Rome doesn’t make sense,” he said at the time.
Appearing Monday at the season five premiere in Paris, Collins, 36, responded humorously to the playful sparring that has ensued between the two leaders.
“I never expected in a million years we would be a part of a European political love triangle,” she laughed, per Variety.
Collins was joined by show creator Darren Star and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, with the latter adding: “Emily in Paris has deepened the cultural conversation between France and the world — it even sparked a very friendly rivalry with Italy over which country would claim the heart of Emily.”
“When Emily first came on the scene, the world was a very different place. We were stuck at home. We were looking for a connection. We were looking for a little escapism. And Emily in Paris was just the ticket,” Sarandos said of the series, which debuted in 2020, amid the Covid lockdown.
Following Macron’s teasing remarks, Gualtieri responded on X. “Take it easy, Emmanuel Macron. Emily in Rome is perfect,” he wrote with a winky face emoji. “And besides, you can’t command the heart: let’s let her choose.”
Macron revealed last year that he and his wife, Brigette, are huge fans of the show. In fact, France’s First Lady made a surprise cameo in season four. In the brief scene, Emily and Brigette happen to be eating at the same restaurant. Emily approaches Brigette and asks for a selfie, telling her she loves France. “And my country loves you, Emily,” the First Lady says.
Season five of the show, which follows Emily Cooper (Collins), a Chicago-based marketing executive hired by a Parisian marketing firm to provide an American perspective, picks up in Rome, where Emily has moved her marketing agency and embarked on a new romance with Italian businessman Marcello Muratori (Eugenio Franceschini). The two met last season on a ski trip in the French Alps after Emily was abandoned by her on again-off again beau, the French chef Gabriel (Lucas Bravo).
While the first two episodes of the forthcoming season are set in Italy’s capital, Star previously confirmed: “It doesn’t mean [Emily’s] not going to be in Paris, but she’s going to have a presence in Rome.”
Season five of Emily in Paris debuts Thursday on Netflix.
