The Unexpected Similarities Between 'Emily In Paris' And 'Industry'
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Emily In Paris season four and Industry season two.
Emily In Paris may seem more alike to Sex And The City (not exactly hard given they’re both created by Darren Star), that HBO's Industry, but it seems the current TV shows titles on everyone's lips have far more in common than meets the eye.
For the uninitiated, Emily In Paris explores the story of Chicago marketing executive Emily Cooper, who is hired at a marketing firm in Paris and goes onto have dramatic love affairs, show off a covetable designer-filled wardrobe, and prove she’s as dedicated to proving herself a success in the workplace as she is learning French (we joke, she’s terrible at the latter). Emily In Paris has just aired its fourth season, and a fifth season – to be set in Rome – has finally been confirmed (albeit potentially without the character Camille).
Industry, meanwhile, follows a group of young finance graduates, like Harper Stern, Robert Spearing and Yasmin Kara-Hanani, fighting tooth and nail against each other to make a success of themselves in The City in London following the 2008 financial crisis. Industry has had two seasons so far, with a third season dropping in October 2024.
So far, very different, right? Perhaps not.
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Well, read on to find out just how similar Emily In Paris is to Industry:
Emily and Harper adore a love triangle
From season one of Emily in Paris, Emily embarks on a love affair – albeit without the sex – with the chef living downstairs Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), who is dating Emily’s new best friend, Camille (Camille Razat). Meanwhile, Harper falls for Robert (Harry Lawtey), who is also in a romantic dalliance with Yasmin (played by ELLE UK cover star, Marisa Abela). While both love triangle’s potency dwindling as the season progresses (Emily’s ‘will she won’t she’ romance with Gabriel is still continuing into season five, we predict, given his definitive split from Camille), we have a feeling we won't be seeing any more love triangles between Harper, Robert and Yasmin in season three.
Emily and Harper are American
Emily Cooper is as American as they come for viewers of Emily In Paris, and her upbeat attitude compared to the more laissez-faire cool of her colleagues is often poked fun at in the show (she’s often called a plouc - a country bumpkin - and ringarde - cheesy). She comes from humble beginnings; her mother is a maths teacher and her dad is a dog breeder.
Industry’s Harper is also an American expat, but lives in London. While she’s not from Chicago like Emily, she seemingly had a similar working class upbringing in the US; she shared a bedroom with her twin and attended state school. Harper is thrown into the deep end of the competitive world of finance with her colleagues in Industry, and gossip about her being a ‘diversity hire’ doesn’t go unnoticed, nor does her non Oxbridge education.
While both characters have merit in their shows – they’re incredibly hard working, after all – viewers develop a love-hate relationship for them. They certainly love to talk about their work, don’t they?
Lily Collins and Myha'la are both in relationships with directors
Lily Collins married her husband Charlie McDowell, a director and screenwriter, in 2021 in Colorado wearing a backless lace Ralph Lauren dress. The couple met on the set of Gilded Rage, a film he directed and she acted in.
Meanwhile, Myha'la recently explained how she met her fiancé, director Armando Rivera. In an interview on on Late Night With Seth Meyers,the 28-year-old Industry actor revealed her now partner slid into her DMs congratulating her about Industry.
‘I said, “Thank you”, and the next day I woke up to a string of video messages’, she added, revealing she thought it was going to be something ‘weird.’ “So, I looked at his profile and was like, “Oh, he’s kind of cute. I guess I’ll watch it,”’ she recalled.
Armando recorded a video of himself asking the actor if he could interview her for a school project, which she ultimately agreed. Their Zoom call ended up being 45 minutes long and the pair began messaging each other before moving onto FaceTime ‘dates’ and, as they say, the rest is history. Rivera is best known for his work on The Big Rant (2021) and Lala's Spa (2021).
Emily and Harper have bosses who hate them, at first
When Emily starts working under Sylvie Grateau (played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), it’s clear the French businesswoman detests her new hire. And it’s not hard to see why – Emily is the antithesis of Sylvie, embarrasses her at parties, pitches ideas during non-working hours, interrupts, and is genuinely quite upbeat and rather annoying at times. However, by season four, it’s clear Emily has started to grow on Sylvie, with the latter keen to continue their working relationship and, at the end of season four, giving her a promotion and asking her to lead the Rome office for Agence Grateau.
In Industry, Harper is well and truly bullied and manipulated by her boss, the deceitful and despicable Eric Tao (played by Ken Leung) during seasons one and two. By the end of season two, we’ve seen the pair strike up a great working chemistry, bare their souls to each, fight and betray each other in equal measure. Suffice it to say, merely their stares at one another could burn holes deep inside your soul.
However, by season two it’s clear that Eric has created a similar monster to himself in his dogeared protegée, Harper. In the Guardian journalist Adrian Horton compares them to the likes of Mad Men’s Don and Peggy and The Bear’s Syd and Carmy - ‘part mentor/mentee, part filial, part mutual self-interest’. ‘We intimidate people because hunger is not a birthright,’ Eric tells Harper in season one. At the end of season two, Eric fires Harper and the viewers are left questioning whether he did so out of malice or to save her from becoming just like him.
Emily and Harper live with heiresses
In Emily In Paris, it isn’t long before Emily is living in her top floor apartment with her best friend Mindy, who ran away from her insanely wealthy family to work as a nanny in Paris before pursuing her singing career.
Meanwhile, early on in Industry Harper moves out of her graduate housing system and in with Yasmin, who is described as an heiress to a publishing empire by Tatler Magazine in the show.
Both TV shows premiered in the pandemic
Emily in Paris made its Netflix debut in October 2020 to critical acclaim, capturing the attention of viewers who quickly became obsessed with her bastardising of the French language (the French less so), unrealistic and widely expensive wardrobe on a marketing executive salary, and its wonderful cast.
Similarly, Industry aired in November 2020 yet didn’t make the buzzy headlines quite like Emily In Paris. Perhaps this was due to Emily In Paris’ escapism entertainment when we were all locked indoors (Industry is a bit harder hitting, to say the least), but as with all good things, sometimes time is a healer and that's what certainly makes Industry an exciting watch come season three.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first series has an approval rating of 76%, based on 38 reviews whereas its third season has a 97% rating, based on 29 reviews.
Season four of Emily In Paris is out now on Netflix. Series three of Industry airs on BBC from October 1.
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