‘I never understood the hate’: behind the scenes on Emily in Paris, TV’s guiltiest pleasure

When Emily in Paris first appeared on television screens during that long pandemic winter of 2020, it was as though a bright bird had flown into a staid dinner party that had gone on for too long. There was excitement; there was glee; there were a great number of feelings about the garishness of the bird. The series, created by Darren Star of Sex and the City fame, follows a young woman from Chicago (Lily Collins) who moves to Paris to work at…