Fans’ one big problem with hit Netflix series Emily in Paris

Many fans have been hit with the exact same puzzling problem as they settled in to watch the new season of Emily in Paris in recent days.

Settling in to watch the new episodes of Netflix’s Emily in Paris over the weekend, I was suddenly struck by a thought familiar to many a TV viewer nowadays, where seasons are short and the gaps between them can stretch for years: What on earth was happening last time I watched this show?

Emily in Paris’ third season had debuted on the platform on December 2022, meaning these new season 4 episodes arrive around 20 months after most fans last watched the show, which follows the exploits of American marketing whiz Emily as she starts a new life in Paris.

Thankfully, there was help at hand, in the form of a three-minute recap video which Netflix automatically played before the new season, rounding up all the biggest plot points from last season.

But wait. Now I had a new problem. I barely remembered a single thing I’d seen in the recap.

I must’ve watched season three – Netflix shows me I have watched it – but who are these people?

OK, this one's 'Emily'. She's in Paris. That much I remember

As the recap whizzed through various dramatic plot twists from last season – tense business deals, secret gay affairs, even an aborted wedding – I felt more confused than ever.

Last season featured a secret same-sex affair of which I simply have no recollection

By the time one character I barely recognised burst into a scene halfway through the recap and announced “WE’RE GOING TO EUROVISION!,” I started to worry I might be exhibiting symptoms of early-onset Alzheimers.

This handsome Frenchie was apparently in the whole last season? Sorry to this man

"We're going to Eurovision!!!" OK sir but who are you?

How can I remember virtually every scene from, say, Titanic, a movie I haven’t seen since about 1998, but I can’t recall a damn thing about a TV show I watched less than two years ago even when it’s replayed for me?

Seems I’m not alone with this crippling Em-nesia. Since season 4 debuted on Netflix last Friday, several viral tweets have made the exact same complaint, with viewers watching the recap in an attempt to jog their memories, only to end up more confused about what’s been going on in the show.

Can’t remember a single thing about this show? That may be by design. Picture: Netflix

“Starting Emily In Paris S4 and the recap from last season is so jarring because I simply do not remember any of this happening,” one person tweeted.

“I fear that the Emily in Paris recap could show scenes of quite literally anything happening to the characters, and I would have no choice but to go along with it and assume they aren’t lying to me,” another viewer responded.

“The recap had me screaming the way I completely forgot every single thing that happened like some sort of emily in paris amnesia trance …. and will likely forget it again 1-3 business days after watching,” one fan tweeted.

The one relief is: In Emily in Paris, none of this really matters, or will impede your ability to enjoy the new season as Emily careens from one romantic and work drama to the next, all of them of little real consequence.

As another fan on X put it: “It’s the ultimate smooth brain show, and I mean that as a compliment.”

Originally published as Fans’ one big problem with hit Netflix series Emily in Paris