When Emily in Paris dropped on Netflix last week, fans were elated to be back in the City of Light with Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), Mindy Chen (Ashley Park), Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) and more.
Since filming was tricky due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Collins was just elated when she got to reunite with the cast and crew.
“Honestly, being back together again was, first and foremost, the most exciting thing, for a lot of us, including the crew. Our French crew are so incredible, and most of the same crew from season 1 came back,” she told Collider. “It really felt like getting the family together again and being able to laugh together and reintroduce ourselves to these characters, who I think bring so much joy to us in the job, as well as hopefully with an audience. That was so fun.”
Park echoed similar sentiments, saying, “Whenever you return to a place, we got to feel like locals this time, especially because there was no tourism. When we did have time off, instead of trying to do as many different things as possible and doing new things, we were exploring, but we also have our favorites. We have certain cafes that we went to and certain restaurants. This season, for me, I also got to get to know, very closely, some French friends and some French people, which is really helpful too.”
The Love, Rosie lead and the Broadway star have gotten close while filming — something they don’t take for granted.
“How amazing is it to be able to experience things like this with a best friend?” Collins gushed. “It’s so calming, knowing that you have a confidant with you, to be vulnerable with and to be anxious with and to be creative and fun.”
Park even said that life imitated art when it comes to their friendship. “Especially the first season, what was so magical for me, even when I watched it back, is that what you’re seeing with Emily and Mindy on screen is very much what happened to us in real life,” she said. “As we were getting to know each other, doing these scenes, we were new friends and we were just sisters right away. Very much how you see Emily and Mindy find a soul sister in one another and a center and rock for their life in Paris, we don’t live in Paris. We’re foreigners in that way too. We were able to be that for each other, in a way that was even more important and moving and cool and awesome in the second season, especially with the way the world was.”
So, anyone want to pitch Emily and Mindy in Paris next?
