Ahead of Emily in Paris Season 5, here’s the only recap you need from the Netflix comedy’s previous chapter

Emily in Paris Season 5 is set to premiere on December 18, 2025.

All ten episodes will drop simultaneously on Netflix. Since 2020, Emily Cooper has been out there living her best, most fashionable life, stumbling through French romance, and somehow squeezing work drama into every croissant run.

In Season 5, we are picking up right where we left off, which means Emily has more chaos coming at her in both love and career. This time, she is reportedly taking her little tornado of drama to Rome. But before you start binging, it’s better to recap the events that led us here, or you will be lost like Emily in a Parisian pharmacy.

You don’t want to miss the details that got her on a plane to Italy, so let’s rewind.

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Emily in Paris recap: Here’s what you need to know

Emily in Paris follows Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins. Emily is a young marketing executive from Chicago who is sent to Paris for work. Her job is to bring an American point of view to some super chic French company. The assignment is meant to be short. Instead, it turns into a long journey. The story explores culture clashes. It focuses on career goals. It also shows Emily’s love life.

The show premiered on Netflix in October 2020. It has run for four seasons. Season 4 was released in two parts. Both parts came out in 2024.

In Season 1, Emily comes to Paris because of her job. Her boss in Chicago, Madeline, sends her there. Emily works at a small marketing firm called Savoir. She arrives after a business deal.

She is sunshine and hashtags in human form: super loud and super online. However, most of her new coworkers think she is a total outsider. They even call her “la plouc.” Emily makes many mistakes at first. She butchers the language, breaks social rules, but she also finds success. She helps Savoir attract new clients with her genius, who dig her influencer brain.

You also meet the whole crew: Gabriel (the handsome chef who lives downstairs), Camille (his girlfriend, who becomes Emily’s BFF), Mindy (Emily’s first real friend, who is a singer and also a nanny), and Sylvie, the boss who is an ice queen but totally knows her stuff. And not to forget forget Julien and Luc, who are just there for office comic relief.

The main emotional moment is Emily kissing Gabriel. This is a problem because he is dating Camille. This moment sets up a big question. Will Emily and Gabriel end up together?

Emily in Paris Season 1 focuses on Emily finding her place at work. She builds friendships. She also causes trouble in other people’s love lives.

Emily in Paris Season 2 makes the story bigger. Emily works with bigger clients. The fashion becomes bolder and flashier. Her marketing ideas face higher stakes. She runs viral campaigns, helps with major events, and enters elite Paris society.

At work, Emily earns more respect. She still clashes with French traditions. And Sylvie remains doubtful of her methods. Meanwhile, romance gets more complicated. Emily starts dating Alfie. He is a British guy who has that cheeky charm thing going. But Gabriel hasn’t exactly left the chat. Camille and Gabriel’s relationship weakens, and Emily becomes closer to both men.

Season 2 pushes extremes. The fashion is over-the-top. The comedy is awkward and cringey. The emotions are sincere. There are several ‘I’m American in France’ moments. By the end, Emily feels more at home in Paris. Her career is stronger. But her love life is still unclear.

Emily in Paris Season 3 pushes everyone forward as careers grow and relationships change. Gabriel and Camille reach a breaking point. Their engagement even causes major drama.

On the other hand, Emily’s profile keeps rising. She attracts bigger campaigns. She starts building a personal brand. Her influence reaches beyond Paris.

Mindy focuses on her music career. She gets new opportunities. She has a key spotlight moment. This later connects to Eurovision storylines.

Sylvie’s personal life gets more attention. Her loyalties are complicated. Power struggles inside the agency become clear.

Emily in Paris Season 3 also shows a downside. Emily’s constant optimism has a cost. Some work wins hurt friendships. Romantic choices bring real consequences. Meanwhile, Emily starts to mature. She succeeds at times and faces failure, too. She must face her role in the problems around her.

Season 4 directly leads into Emily in Paris Season 5. This is where the show finally drops the croissants and starts serving real drama. Here are the key moments you need to know:

First of all, the love triangle is back. Alfie shows up again and stirs up Emily and Gabriel’s already-challenging thing, only to dip out after a masquerade that’s essentially one big emotional demolition derby. Drama follows at connected events. In the end, Alfie leaves for good.

Then there’s Camille, who thinks she might be pregnant. This shocks everyone. It affects her friendship with Emily. It also affects her relationship with Gabriel. The pregnancy turns out to be a false alarm. However, the secrets around it push major decisions.

Gabriel, meanwhile, is busy chasing Michelin stars and letting his kitchen dreams take over his life. He is so wrapped up in his restaurant that romance keeps getting sidelined. It’s actually nice to see him do something besides pine after Emily for once.

Sylvie is still the queen bee, only now the agency is a hornet’s nest. Season 4 brings scandals and power plays. She is fighting to keep her throne while everyone else is busy stabbing each other in the back. Emily in Paris Season 4 shows Sylvie considering reshaping the PR world.

Mindy gets her own glow-up with a Eurovision storyline. She is prepping for her big shot, dodging haters, and aiming for international stardom. This is a huge emotional moment for her.

Emily in Paris Season 4 ends with a major change. Emily is asked to open an Agence Grateau office in Rome. This moves the story from Paris to Italy. It is a promotion for Emily, but also an emotional test. She has to say au revoir to Paris with many questions unresolved. And now, she steps into a new culture.

Season 4 becomes the turning point. Relationships end or restart. New paths open. The show shifts from Paris fantasy to real choices.

Emily’s big headache right now is chasing her career dreams versus actually having a life. She has been grinding it out for four seasons, and now she is off to Rome. Emily in Paris Season 5 is set up for her to pick: Does she go all-in on love (Gabriel again? Or maybe someone brand new?) or does she throw herself into the global-girlboss grind? That’s where all the drama is going to come from.

Meanwhile, the romances are a mess. Gabriel has got his Michelin-star obsession, Camille is making wild moves, and none of that is making things neat with Emily. Alfie is gone, but the emotional chaos is still everywhere. If Emily rolls back into Paris or starts some flirty business in Rome, she is dragging all that history with her.

And then there are side stories. Mindy is out there hustling in music, Sylvie is scheming her way through agency politics, and either of those could crash into Emily’s Rome adventure.

Emily in Paris loves to mix business with, well, everything else, especially romance that’s just a little too dramatic for real life. December 18 is set to unfold new adventures for Emily.