It's official: The world can't stop talking about Emily Cooper, one of 2020's most polarizing TV characters.
Played by Lily Collins, the titular social media marketer at the center of Netflix's Emily in Paris has some fans wishing they could be her and others waiting for her 15 minutes of fame to end.
Yes, Emily gets to wear fabulous fashion (think: Christian Dior, Chanel, Vivienne Westwood) that's reminiscent of Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe. And yes, Emily has a dream gig that's hard to imagine someone her age landing (she's 22 or 24, depending on who you ask). But regardless of what story lines delight, confuse or upset viewers, the season finale begs one big-picture question: will Emily in Paris return for season two?
Since the show just premiered less than a month ago, it's hard to predict its fate—especially at a time when beloved Netflix gems like Glow have been given the chop amid the coronavirus pandemic. As Vulture pointed out, MTV Studios technically produces the show, meaning it might not even be in the hands of Netflix. That said, there is some hope.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, creator Darren Star hinted at the possibilities for a sophomore run.
"I don't know about season two yet, but I think Emily has some surprising tough choices," he said. "The show's so much about the culture undermining her expectations of how things are and how things seem. And everything will not be as it seems. It's always about challenging her American worldview. We certainly have a lot of forks in the road and a lot of places to go."
Could Emily be given the choice to return to Chicago and say goodbye to her glamorous new life abroad? Sounds like a possibility.
Of course, Collins and the cast would certainly be game to play their characters again. "We're really hoping to get the green light for season two," Collins told Harper's Bazaar. Meanwhile, Lucas Bravo, who handsomely plays Gabriel, told Cosmopolitan that season one "planted a few seeds" for future storylines—namely that the love triangle between Emily, Gabriel, and Camille Razat's Camille could get even more complicated.
Recently, Collins jokingly admitted she was wrong when she first predicted that Emily's age was 22, which then prompted Bravo to chime in with his guess, 24. Though we don't know her age for certain, one thing's for sure: Emily might not be as blindly naive if she returns.
"In season 2, she's going to be more of a part of the fabric of the world she's living in. She'll be more of a resident of the city," Star told OprahMag.com. "She'll have her feet on the ground a little more. She's making a life there."
Ultimately, we'd like to think Emily would reappear with her eagerly optimistic point of view—annoying as it can be. After all, Star created the show as a form of escape for viewers.
"I hope it's just pure entertainment for 10 episodes and that it gives people this sort of vicarious travel experience to Paris at a time when we can't go," he told E!. "We were filming this a year ago and it was hard to imagine what the world would become. I think that it's just a great way to travel."
Mission accomplished.