Emily in Paris. Emily in Rome. Now Emily in Greece?

Emily in Paris, which began as a frothy rom-com, has quietly turned into a soft-power travel brochure, one so effective that Presidents, Prime Ministers and Mayors are personally invested in Emily Cooper’s passport.Speculation about the show’s next destination intensified after the final episode of Season 5 teased a possible Greek chapter, with Emily’s lover writing to her from Greece. Director Andrew Fleming confirmed to Us Weekly that Greece is very much on the table. “Assuming we’re picked up, I want to go back to Paris. But I want to go other places too,” Fleming said. “It’s teased where we might end up going at the end of season 5 — there’s a possibility we’ll be going there, to Greece.” A European love triangle The late-night seal of approval came from Lily Collins herself. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she joked about the show’s unexpected political reach. As Fallon quipped that “European leaders are now fighting over Emily in Paris,” Collins called it “a European love triangle.”She then mentioned, “The Greek Prime Minister (Kyriakos Mitsotakis) recently said that his wife’s favourite show is Emily in Paris. And that after a long day, what he wants is to go home and watch it with her.”Laughing, she added, “I thought — what? After a long day at the office? You mean… governing Greece? And then you go home and watch Emily in Paris?”Emily in Paris is as ignorable as it is oddly compelling. You don’t have to pay close attention to enjoy it, but it will still catch your eye, if only momentarily. Admit it: it’s the perfect hate-watch for the holidays: hot chocolate on the side table, blanket pulled up, brain switched firmly off. It’s soothing, slow, and demands very little of you.Paris, sold by Emily In Paris Beyond mushy romances with dashing chefs and flamboyant artists, creator Darren Star delivered something more lasting: postcard-perfect Paris. Emily’s wanderings from one scenic location to another turned the series into a travel ad better than any tourism campaign the city could have commissioned.Fans didn’t just binge the show, they booked it. Travel agencies rolled out Emily in Paris packages, and a simple search for “Emily in Paris travel tours” leads to pages of walking itineraries tracing Emily’s fictional footsteps, Instagram posts encouraged.When Macron was ready to 'fight hard for it'The impact was real enough for Star to receive the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award. President Emmanuel Macron, whose wife Brigitte appeared briefly in season four, said at the ceremony that Star makes “France shine across the world.”Which explains why Macron was far from amused when Emily packed her bags for Rome. Announced at the end of season four, the move prompted him to vow he would “fight hard” to keep the show in Paris. “We will ask them to remain in Paris! Emily in Paris in Rome doesn’t make sense,” he said, adding that the series is “super positive in terms of attractiveness for the country…a very good initiative.”Asked how he planned to get Emily back, Macron doubled down: “We will fight hard.”Rome was happy Rome, however, was unfazed. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri responded with a cheerful tweet: “Take it easy, Emmanuel Macron. Emily in Rome is perfect.”Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he later asked, “Doesn’t President Macron have more pressing matters to worry about?” He added, “I would like to believe, at least I would like to hope, that Macron was joking, because he ought to know that a production company like Netflix does not take orders from heads of state or make decisions based on political pressure.”From Rome’s point of view, he said, Emily’s arrival made perfect sense. “We see Emily’s move to Rome as a confirmation that our city is becoming more and more important, and we are quite relaxed about Netflix production decisions.”And just like Paris before it, Rome became another glossy backdrop. In Season five, Emily relocates to head the Italian office of her marketing firm, invited by her new love interest Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini). She zips around on his scooter, ticking off the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum and the Spanish Steps. Marcello even delivers a line that doubles as the season’s thesis: “Forget about crepes. We’ll be eating pizza.”With the new location comes a visual reset. Emily’s bob haircut signals a tonal shift, echoed in her wardrobe. Costume designer Marilyn Fitoussi told The New York Times that Rome inspired “a much more modern, sexy, powerful” look, replacing the “romantic, wavy, girly” clothes of earlier seasons.Is it still Emily in Paris? Wherever Emily lands next, Paris, Rome, or Greece, the formula remains unchanged. The city becomes the client, the skyline the backdrop, and Emily Cooper the most dedicated tourism ambassador Europe never formally hired. Emily may think she’s in marketing, but her real brief is clear: arrive, dress well, fall in love, and make the city look irresistible.