Emily in Paris

With a few small exceptions, Emily in Paris Season 2 is basically just more of the same, and who could ask for anything more? ... Emily in Paris remains an undeniably watchable delight, short on substance but long on satisfaction.

In its second season, “Emily in Paris” serves up more of the same, and more of something TV can do well: Charming, watchable, low-friction entertainment in a setting that’s fun to look at. It’s not the best of anything. But it’s good TV.

Meatier Season 2 delves into Emily’s personal growth. Her emotional progression is gradual and almost imperceptible until the last two episodes of the season, when you suddenly realize yes, she might still be grating to the last, but she’s no longer the wide-eyed naïf she was when she stepped out of that cab in the fifth arrondissement. ... As was with the first season, the most valuable people on screen are Emily’s coworkers.

Everyone is over-acting to a borderline unconvincing amount. The series’ narrative progression is carefully curated to appeal to the tastes and sensibilities of viewers. ... Nothing happening in the series may be real, or important, but that’s never Star’s goal. Rather, each episode in Season Two is nothing more than a 30-minute escape, peering into a world that is mere fantasy, and is all the more entertaining for it, which, in this case, is enough.

Fun, fashion-forward and funny, Emily in Paris’s second season makes for a very easy watch if you’re after a fluffy romcom full of colourful characters and lovers’ tiffs to get you through the Christmas holidays, but if you’re looking for a sitcom with substance, I would say non merci to this messy comedy.

If you meet “Emily in Paris” where it’s at — as pure escapism — it’s a bearable viewing experience. But don’t look for anything deeper.

While the drama and tension between Emily, Gabriel, Camille, and now Alfie might be what keeps the lights on, there will likely come a point in time when viewers decide the good no longer outweighs the bad. For some, that point may have already come and gone. For others, it could be on the horizon. It's up to everyone to decide how much they're willing to handle.

The show and its lead try to be more earnest in season two, only to fall short due to lazy writing, dramatic and stretched-out narrative arcs, and Emily’s ongoing lack of distinctive traits beyond the fact that she’s apparently good at her job.

Series two has not changed at all, packing in the same old “oh là là” French clichés and being almost gleefully bad.