Emily in Paris fans and Emily Cooper herself entered the stylish comedy series’ first season in the same boat. Just as we were getting to know Emily, the Chicago marketing whiz found her life uprooted to Paris, surrounded by strangers and tasked with getting used to a whole new world. Season 2, on the other hand, will feel much more established — for viewers and Emily alike. 

“Coming into Season 2, I think we all felt more settled in our characters,” Lily Collins, who portrays Emily and serves as one of the show’s producers, tells Netflix. “I knew who Emily was and I missed playing her, so jumping right back in felt organic and exciting.” Although Collins admits to feeling “creatively anxious” in her return to set — as she “always” is — she found comfort in slipping back into Emily’s towering platforms. “I really wanted to make sure that we focused a lot on her creative drive and work ethic.” 

In Season 2, Emily is poised for real success in Paris. She has won her fair share of camaraderie (if sometimes grudgingly so) with her coworkers, proven she is actually great at her job and built her personal social media brand. Emily knows who she is. 

“She finds a romanticism in what she does and loves it deeply,” Collins says “With her introductory phase over at Savoir, Emily now has to earn her spot and the respect of her coworkers.”. While Emily has everything she needs to thrive in coming episodes, she can’t help but stumble into an obstacle. She is not, after all, an entirely new person (“Drama always follows Emily wherever she goes,” Collins quips). The cause of Season 2’s central tension bubbled up in the Season 1 finale, when Emily hooked up with her neighbor Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), the estranged boyfriend of another pal, Camille (Camille Razat). 

“Emily and Gabriel are, per usual, in a bit of a sticky situation,” Collins observes. “Emily has to make a very distinct separation between her personal life and her professional life… [Camille] is also a colleague and client at Savoir and pursuing Gabriel would potentially interfere with both a friendship and her career, which continues to be extremely important to Emily.” 

Thankfully, Emily will be able to explore one relationship under a lot less pressure in Season 2. The new episodes welcome Alfie, a British banker played by Lucien Laviscount. “Alfie is a great foil for Emily,” Collins assures us. The eventual love interests meet at a decidedly less than romantic setting: between the bland gray walls of French tutoring. This unglamourous locale allowed Emily in Paris to invest in its Season 2 goal of focusing on Emily’s French studies. 

“We wanted to immerse Emily in French language even more this season. She’s continuing with her French class and is really making an effort,” Collins explains. Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) will be delighted to hear this news.