While we probably don’t need another basic show about another privileged white girl going after her dreams in a big city, Netflix has given us one anyway. Personally, I’m glad they did. Even though it’s important to face the realities of our current world, sometimes it’s nice to escape them just for 20 minutes, and Emily in Paris provides just that.

Emily in Paris, released on October 2, 2020, to Netflix, is about a junior-level marketing professional living in Chicago, until she gets sent to France to run social media campaigns for a boutique agency that represents high-end fashion clients. Despite Emily’s lack of experience with high-end products of any kind and her inability to know a single word of French other than “Bonjour,” she manages to hold her own.

Emily, played by Lily Collins, claims at one point in the show that her biggest goal is to be liked, but her time in Paris has given her a tough run of that. First off, her boss hates her. Since the entire reason Emily came to Paris was for her career, Emily spends pretty much all of her time trying to buddy up to Sylvie, the stylish, intimidating, and terrifying boss.

Secondly, the mysterious boy-next-door (or rather, downstairs) who also happens to cook fabulous omelets seems pretty interested in Emily, until *GASP* we find out he has a girlfriend. And so, the love triangle unfolds into confusing levels of friendship, romance, and… on-call chefs? How Emily manages to deal with both all the work drama and the boy drama beats me; high school feels hard enough!

But wait – there’s more! Emily’s @emilyinparis Instagram account also takes off during this 10-episode series. This is where the most cheesiness lies for me, and not just because of her post captioned “Paris is for cheese lovers” that somehow gained her nearly 600 new followers. I don’t think everyone needs to have the perfect looking Instagram account, but I do think it’s fair to say that Dureé would not be asking Emily to become a brand ambassador, despite her massive success in the social media industry.

It sounds like I have loads of criticism to throw on this new series, but I’m actually very glad I watched it. Each episode lasts only 30 minutes, which is why I managed to watch the entire season in three days. Despite its unrealistic take on, well, reality, I could not put it down.

Emily in Paris may be considered “ringard,” much like Emily’s Eiffel Tower keychain, but I am absolutely looking forward to a second season.