Lily Collins promises more diversity in second season of Emily in Paris

Lily Collins has promised fans there will be more diversity in the upcoming season of Emily in Paris.

In the hit Netflix comedy-drama series, the actress plays Emily Cooper, an American who moves to Paris to provide a fresh point of view to Savoir, a French marketing firm.

The follow-up series was shot earlier this year, and in an interview for the December/January 2021 issue of ELLE magazine, Lily insisted she and the other producers have reacted to the criticism over representation in the first season, which debuted in October 2020.

"For me as Emily, but also as a producer on (the show), after season one, hearing people's thoughts, concerns, questions, likes, dislikes, just feelings about it, there were certain things that spoke to the time that we're living in and what's right, and moral and correct and should be done. And (that was) something that I felt passionate about. (The producers) all believed in the same things," she told the publication. "And I really wanted diversity and inclusion in front of and behind the camera to be something that we really put our focus on, in a lot of ways. Hiring new people in front of the camera, also giving new storylines to different characters, which was really important."

Elsewhere in the chat, Lily recalled what it was like to film the show during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how the entire cast and crew had to abide by all sorts of health regulations. But there was something special about shooting in the City of Lights when it was so quiet.

"It was very empty when I first got there. And there weren't any Americans around because they weren't allowed," the star explained. "So that felt even more strange, because the only accents you would hear were French - which was also really lovely."

The second season of Emily in Paris is scheduled to premiere on 22 December.