Well, it’s official. Lucas Bravo is coming back for Emily in Paris season 5 despite going on a smear campaign following the release of the show’s fourth season in which Bravo has made it incredibly clear he’s not a fan of the show’s creative decision.
Filming on the fifth season of Netflix’s beloved romantic comedy is set to begin next summer in France with cameras slated to begin rolling the first week of May 2025. In confirming the start date for filming, Variety has also confirmed that Bravo, who plays Emily’s on-and-off love interest Gabriel on the show, will be coming back for the upcoming fifth season… though, we’re not exactly happy with the news if we’re being completely honest.
As fans who have been keeping up with the drama know, Bravo has been openly putting down the show in the last several months while promoting his upcoming film Freedom. In an interview with IndieWire, Bravo bashed the show and questioned whether he even wanted to continue to be a part of the cast.
Some notable soundbites from Bravo’s rant about the show included him describing Gabriel as “being slowed turned into guacamole,” openly expressing that he’s not at all happy with and “frustrated with the direction by character is taking,” and noting that “we don’t have much liberty on set. We cannot change a word or an emotion,” in calling out the writers indirectly.
However, the icing on the cake from the interview was the following quote in which he put the show’s writing choices on blast and claimed the show was “holding onto something that they couldn’t measure.”
“They’re probably holding onto something that they couldn’t measure that had such a success so now they are very precious about not changing the recipe and keeping it what it was,” Bravo told IndieWire. “Anything that could go off road is carefully taken back. It’s a lot of souffles. Pregnant? No, fake positive. Going to Rome? No, coming back. There are a lot of things like that. There is a lack of risk.”
Needless to say, Bravo’s comments have not sat well with the fans and, while no one on the cast has directly commented on his remarks, a source told Us Weekly that “Everyone is so upset about the remarks he made. There is going to be a lot of tension.” And can we really blame them? Bravo basically trashed the show that’s made him a household name openly while calling out the writers for not taking risks and turning his character into guacamole!
And all things considered, we sort of wish he had just walked away from the show or that the show would take matters into its own hands and simply move on from the character, who let’s be real, isn’t needed.
Sure Gabriel has been a key figure in Emily’s journey, but this is Emily Cooper’s story and, after the events of last season, we’re more than ready to see her close the book on Gabriel’s chapter in her story. Emily deserves better than Gabriel, who has never really put Emily first even when they were in a relationship, always making her feel inferior and making her doubt herself.
This has never been more evident than when in juxtaposition with her relationship with Marcello, who from the start has shown up for Emily and put her first, supporting her journey and navigating through the rough patches with a maturity Gabriel lacked.
Simply put, the show no longer needs Gabriel and Bravo’s criticism should have been the catalyst for the writers to close the book on his story.