SERIES PREMIERE: Darren Star of
Sex and the City has a new series, and he’s brought that show’s crucially important and inventive wardrobe designer, Patricia Field, with him. This new series,
Emily in Paris, takes the
Sex and the City plotline of having Carrie go to Paris, and gives it instead to a younger new character, Emily Cooper. She’s played by Lily Collins, who’s as immediately lovable here as Sarah Jessica Parker was in
Sex and the City. Plus, the city in
this loose variant of
Sex and the City is the City of Lights. When Emily bites into her first Parisian croissant and almost passes out from joy, I know the feeling. My first time in Paris, biting into my first croissant from a small street-side bakery, I almost broke my teeth because there was no resistance at all: it was like biting into a cloud. This new American in Paris is so taken by what she sees, yet so dismissed by her new Parisian workplace colleagues, that you can’t help but root for her. And Field dresses the character with such exuberance and flair, Emily actually draws as much attention as the scenery. You’d think Darren Star, after all these years (his resume also includes
Beverly Hills, 90210 and
Melrose Place), would have lost a step or two – but with
Younger and with this series, he’s clearly still on top of the form. And across the pond, filmed a while ago, there’s another reason to dive into this romantic fantasy so eagerly: It’s pre-virus. No masks. Just some killer heels.
For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.