Why bolero trend seen in Emily in Paris should not be shrugged off
Reimagined Y2K-era micro-jacket is ideal for erratic weather and Olivia Rodrigo to Bella Hadid are early adopters
September 2023
Forget the Emily in Paris fantasy tour, it’s not a patch on the life I live here
Pamela Druckerman
Best-selling American author says the new Netflix-endorsed city tour doesn’t show the best features of her adopted home – free preschool, university and healthcare
December 2022
TV review
Emily in Paris season three review – there’s no point fighting this nonsense any more
The plot lurches from melodrama to high farce, it’s frequently baffling and the supposedly luxury marketing could have come from a task on The Apprentice. But – whisper it – it’s really fun …
March 2022
Windfall review – talky Netflix crime thriller brings little reward
Jesse Plemons, Jason Segel and Lily Collins are wasted in a ho-hum Covid-shot crime drama that struggles to distinguish itself
January 2022
Ukraine’s culture minister blasts Emily in Paris over ‘unacceptable’ stereotype
Oleksandr Tkachenko has complained to Netflix about the insulting ‘caricature’ of the character Petra in the much-derided hit show’s second series
December 2021
Observer TV reviews
The week in TV: The Amazing Mr Blunden; The Girl Before; The Wonder Years; Emily in Paris
Mark Gatiss updates another 70s time-travelling classic; murder mystery meets 50 Shades meets Grand Designs; and The Wonder Years gets a bold reboot
‘She should listen to Gainsbourg bra-less!’ – Parisians respond to Emily in Paris’s return
With its rude waiters, philandering husbands and beret-wearing croissant-nibblers, Netflix’s stereotype-laden romcom outraged the French and divided the world. How do Parisians feel about its imminent return?
Paris warms to Emily as Netflix’s ingenue returns for new series
Roasted by critics for being clichéd and inane, the romcom is due to return with a ‘more mature’ heroine
November 2021
Netflix’s Emily in Paris to focus on diversity, says star Lily Collins
Cliches aside, new hires and storylines add inclusivity to the menu in show’s series two
September 2021
Stream team
Love, Rosie: timing is everything in this delectable Lily Collins romcom
Sweet without being saccharine, this 2014 gem juggles the dreams of carefree youth and the fallout from when life’s best-laid plans go awry
October 2020
Hadley Freeman's Weekend column
Yes, Emily In Paris is unrealistic. But when it comes to escapist TV, reality is overrated
Hadley Freeman
'The cliches are plentiful' – a French view of Emily in Paris
'Plenty to feel insulted about': French critics round on Emily in Paris
TV review
Emily in Paris review – an excruciating exorcism of French cliches
May 2019
Tolkien review – lumpen life story
The magic is missing from this biopic of the Lord of the Rings author
April 2019
Lily Collins: ‘I want to dig deep, tell the truth and be more brave’
Tolkien estate disavows forthcoming film starring Nicholas Hoult
December 2018
TV review
Les Misérables review – merci, Andrew Davies, c'est magnifique
Liberally scattered with talent from Dominic West and David Oyelowo to Lily Collins, this mercifully song-free adaptation was a rich feast to end the year
May 2018
A Wizard's Tale review – wasp-waisted princess misreads the feminist memo
Lily Collins’ spoilt heroine simpers through this muddled tale of hipster balloons, magic portals and predatory Christmas trees
July 2017
To the Bone review – Netflix's anorexia tale is uninsightful, insipid and insulting
Keanu Reeves’ phoned-in performance as a dashing doctor is one of many low points in a film whose addressing of an important topic ranges from banal to bizarre
