‘Emily in Paris‘ started streaming on Netflix earlier this month and everyone I know (including myself) binge-watched it pretty quickly. Although it might look like your typical rom com, there is actually a lot to be learned from the show. Here’s what Lily Collins, who stars in the lead role, and Darren Star, the creator (most famous for ‘Sex and the City’), had to say about the show.

5 Things to Take Away from ‘Emily in Paris’ (According to Lily Collins and Darren Star)

5. You can learn a lot from traveling.

When Darren Star was 19, he went backpacking around Europe for the summer. During this time, he landed in Paris and fell in love with the city. He wanted to share this feeling with an audience and create a show that would explore the overall experience of what it’s like to be an American abroad. However, this isn’t just a feeling that Americans will experience. Filipinos will feel the exact same way in foreign territory.

Either way, Darren points out that “traveling and immersing yourself in a foreign culture renews you in a sense, and it opens your eyes to the world. That exposure helps you perceive things in a really new and fresh way; you have to leave a lot of your preconceived notions behind.” This is something that Darren did during his backpacking trip, and which Emily also does in the series.

4. Do not let rejection get you down.

Lily Collins shares that the character of Emily really resonated with her because when she was younger, she was going into boardrooms of executives much older than herself to pitch talk show ideas. “I was always thinking of concepts that were larger than life and had no fear in pursuing my dreams,” she reminisces, “but I was told ‘no’ so many times.”

Lily adds that she also lost out on tons of auditions early on in her career. “If I had just accepted those no’s, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today,” she points out. “I had to find ways to pursue my passions and educate myself by getting other kinds of experiences. Emily’s like that, too. She sees ‘no’ as a comma, not a period.”

3. Adapt, but stay true to yourself.

Emily has a lot of really great qualities. She’s confident, strong, and ambitious. However, she is a fish out of water in Paris because Paris is very different culture-wise. She has to learn this new culture and integrate into a new way of living. Still, despite everything, her innate sense of self stays the same. “Encountering and immersing yourself in different cultures always helps you grow,” Darren stresses.

2. Don’t be afraid to experiment with fashion.

Fashion plays a huge part in ‘Emily in Paris’. In fact, practically everything Emily wears in it is memorable. Lily shares that she closely collaborated with Patricia Field for the costumes, sending pictures and feedback even from afar. “They found amazing vintage pieces while scouring the city
and all the markets, as well as having designers make pieces that felt Emily-inspired,” she shares. “I even got to wear a couple pieces from Patricia’s own closet. They weren’t afraid to mix and match colors, patterns, shapes and textures which I really appreciated. We need that inspiration and electricity now more than ever.”

1. Living abroad isn’t easy.

A lot of Filipinos seem to think that living abroad is easy. When Filipinos leave to live and work in another country, they automatically assume they are “living the dream”. ‘Emily in Paris’ shows us that this isn’t the case. In fact, while the team was living in Paris while shooting, they all had fish-out-of-water experiences.

“We all had real-life anecdotes about living in Paris as Americans that made it into the show, and there are layers to those experiences — more obvious ones like language barriers — as well as more subtle cultural differences,” Darren shares. “But it takes living and breathing a different country to see all the nuances, and we all did that alongside Emily this season.”

What was your favorite lesson from ‘Emily in Paris’? Geek out with me! 🙂

Got any movies or series you’d like us to review? Email me at angeline.wheninmanila@gmail.com or send me a direct message at When in Manila Angeline on Facebook. Interact with the team and join the WhenInManila.com Community at WIM Squad! Join our WhenInManila.com community on Viber, as well!