NEED TO KNOW
Emily Cooper is continuing her Italian adventure!
Netflix shared first-look images of Emily in Paris’s fifth season on Wednesday, Aug. 20, which sees the titular character, played by Lily Collins, continuing her journey in Venice, Italy. Now spearheading Agence Grateau Rome — the position she secured at the end of the fourth season — Emily is met with a complex professional and romantic life as she navigates a new city.
“Just as everything falls into place, a work idea backfires, and the fallout cascades into heartbreak and career setbacks,” the season 5 synopsis reads. “Seeking stability, Emily leans into her French lifestyle, until a big secret threatens one of her closest relationships.”
Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix
“Tackling conflict with honesty, Emily emerges with deeper connections, renewed clarity, and a readiness to embrace new possibilities,” the synopsis concludes.
Season 5 will feature returning characters Mindy Chen (Ashley Park), Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), Sylvie Grateau (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), Julien (Samuel Arnold), Luc (Bruno Gouery), Antoine Lambert (William Abadie), Alfie (Lucien Laviscount), Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini), Genevieve (Thalia Besson), Nico (Paul Forman), Laurent G (Arnaud Binard), Princess Jane (Minnie Driver), Jake (Bryan Greenberg) and Yvette (Michèle Laroque).
Bravo’s return to the series comes after he said he “really grew apart” from Gabriel after season 4 because he saw his character “being slowly turned into guacamole.”
“The ‘sexy chef’ was very much part of me in season 1 and we grew apart season after season because of the choices he makes and because of the direction they make him take,” Bravo, 36, told IndieWire last October. “I’ve never been so far away from him.”
It was also previously confirmed that longtime cast member Camille Razat, who played Camille (a.k.a. Gabriel’s former love interest and Emily’s pal), will not be returning for season 5.
Caroline Dubois/Netflix
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Emily’s stint in Italy comes after her emotionally tumultuous last season, which saw the titular character “break, and break down,” Collins told PEOPLE in 2024.
In the fourth season, Emily copes with her breakup from Gabriel, and when she runs into another ex, Alfie, she spirals and breaks down — a moment that adds significant dimension to Emily’s character, Collins said.
“I think it’s really important to also just showcase Emily as someone who is very strong and capable and able, and at the same time, capable and able of feeling emotions and not knowing what’s going on, because you can’t have your stuff together all the time,” Collins shared with PEOPLE at the time.
Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix
Emily ultimately fell deeply for Marcello, an heir to an Italian luxury cashmere company, and the pair ended up together in the final moments of the season — just as Emily learns she’ll be staying in Italy permanently for work.
All episodes of Emily in Paris season 5 will premiere on Dec. 18 on Netflix.