Is Emily in Paris Sinking to New Lows in Season 4?

Emily in Paris, the Netflix series that has been the subject of both fascination and ridicule, is back for its fourth season. And by the looks of it, the show is taking its signature style of vapid, indulgent fantasy to new heights – or rather, new lows.

The outfits are as horrible as ever, a riot of clashing colors and statement pieces that make one wonder if the costume designers have ever so much as glanced at a French fashion magazine. But then again, maybe that's the point – maybe the show's creators are making some kind of clever commentary on the superficiality of it all.

The acting, too, is often disastrous, with Lily Collins' wooden performance as the titular Emily coming in for particular criticism. And yet, despite the stilted delivery and cringe-worthy dialogue, there's something weirdly compelling about Collins' portrayal – a kind of spaced-out detachment that's almost like a form of meta-commentary on the vapidity of the show itself.

Then there are the marketing meetings, oh the marketing meetings. If there's one thing that Emily in Paris is actually good at, it's depicting the soul-sucking drudgery of corporate life. The show's take on the world of advertising is often hilariously bad – characters spouting buzzwords and nonsense in meetings that seem to go on forever. But is it satire, or just incompetence? It's hard to say.

Maybe that's the genius of Emily in Paris – maybe the show is actually a masterpiece of postmodern satire, one that's so clever and self-referential that it's gone completely over the heads of its audience. Or maybe it's just a bad TV show that's somehow stumbled into being a kind of cultural phenomenon.

Either way, one thing's for sure – Emily in Paris season four is going to be a wild ride. Buckle up, folks, because this dripping tap of drivel is about to overflow its banks and flood the airwaves with its uniquely weird brand of style and substance.