Emily in Paris (or should I say, Emily in Pair-ee), follows Emily Cooper,
a 20-something marketing exec from Chicago. Just as Emily’s boss, Madeline, is about to
take a job at the Paris-based marketing firm Savoir she discovers that she’s pregnant and
makes the decision to stay in Chicago to raise her baby. And so, Emily takes the job and relocates to
France. She creates the @EmilyInParis Instagram account to chronicle her new life, but things
aren’t quite as magical as she first anticipated. Her bright and upbeat demeanor immediately puts
her at odds with her new boss Sylvie. Sylvie seems to be stuck in her old ways, and grows resentful
of Emily’s creative new ideas and wholesome charm winning over both old and new clients for Savoir.
Making things even more tense in Emily’s relationship with Sylvie is that one of
Savoir’s main clients, Antoine, the owner of a perfume company,
has been having a years long affair with Sylvie but also seems to be taking a liking to Emily.
And though it’s eventually revealed that Antoine’s feelings for Emily are platonic and not romantic,
Emily does help Sylvie recognize that she deserves more than being a mistress.
Other colleagues at Savoir include the dramatic Julien and the quirky Luc, who at first follow
Sylvie’s lead in icing out Emily, but are quickly won over by her persistent positivity.
Meanwhile, Emily’s Instagram account is gaining followers fast,
leading to Emily becoming an influencer in her own right,
allowing her to use her newfound clout to bring in new clients for Savoir.
While things are going great for her professionally, Emily’s personal life is a
bit more complicated. Dealing with cultural differences and a language barrier lead
to Emily feeling like an outcast. Luckily, she befriends Mindy, the daughter of a wealthy Chinese
family who now works as a nanny in Paris. Mindy had big dreams of being a professional singer,
but after an embarrassing performance on China’s biggest singing competition show,
she abandoned her dreams and moved to Paris to live a simpler life.
Mindy helps introduce Emily to all of the fun that Paris has to offer.
In moving to Paris, Emily left behind her boyfriend Doug in Chicago with the intention
of having a long distance relationship. But the distance becomes too much for Doug,
and the two break up, leaving Emily single in the most romantic city on Earth. She develops
feelings for her neighbor Gabriel, who lives in the apartment below hers. But that attraction is
complicated when Emily discovers that Gabriel has a girlfriend, Camille, who strikes up a
genuine friendship with Emily. As Emily and Gabriel grow closer, even sharing a kiss,
Emily begins to feel guilty about betraying Camille and tries to pull away from Gabriel.
Meanwhile, for Gabriel and Camille, their relationship begins to strain on its own.
Gabriel is a chef with dreams of buying the restaurant he currently works at,
and Camille asks her family to loan Gabriel the money required for the purchase.
But Gabriel refuses the money, not wanting to be indebted to Camille’s family.
Everything comes to a head in the season finale. Emily secures fashion icon Pierre Cadault
as a client of Savoir, but when he’s the target of embarrassing publicity stunts at the hands of
young streetwear designers Grey Space, Pierre loses confidence in himself and
pulls out of Paris Fashion Week. The debacle causes Sylvie to fire Emily.
But after Emily delivers a pep talk to Pierre, the designer is inspired for a new collection
and the Savoir team hijack Grey Space’s venue to premiere his new looks. The event
is a huge success, and Sylvie decides to keep Emily on as an employee at Savoir.
Things are much more complicated for Emily in her personal life. Her best friend Mindy takes
a part time job singing at a drag club and is subsequently fired by her conservative employers
for whom she nannies. So now Mindy was forced to move in with Emily. Emily also begins a burgeoning
relationship with Pierre’s nephew, Mathieu, who after the huge success of fashion week, offers
to whisk Emily away to a romantic vacation in Saint Tropez. Gabriel, meanwhile, decides to buy
a cheaper restaurant in Normandy, leading to his imminent departure from Paris. This fractures his
relationship with Camille, and knowing this could be the last time she would see Gabriel, Emily
decides to give in to her feelings and sleep with him. Buuuuuut on the day of Gabriel’s departure
he gets an offer from Antoine to invest in his Paris restaurant, meaning Gabriel would be staying
around after all. And so, as season one comes to a close, Emily is caught between her loyalty to
her friend Camille, her burgeoning relationship with Mathieu, and her true feelings for Gabriel.