Forget Emily In Paris: 10 Better Netflix Shows About France

Netflix is one of France’s biggest producers of films and TV series. While its hit comedy has become almost iconic, here are 10 better series based in France.

The cast of the Netflix show "Transatlantic" and filmed in Marseille. The show tells the story of the Emergency Rescue Committee who helped more than 2000 refugees escape occupied France.

Netflix’s hit “Emily In Paris” has taken on iconic status as a show people either love or love to hate. Either way, it’s now officially a touchstone for how people think about tourists and certain kinds of Americans who visit France.

But for all the attention it gets, the show overshadows the fact that Netflix has become one of the largest producers of films and TV series in France. As such, there are a wide variety of titles on the streaming giant that offer a much richer view of life — and the history of — France.

Here are 10 of the best:

1. The Eddy

This miniseries follows a former New York City jazz pianist whose career has taken an unexpected detour to Paris where he’s trying to find himself again and rediscover his passion for playing. In the meantime, he runs a jazz club where he’s trying to support a band of other international musicians while raising his teenage daughter and dealing with the Paris underworld. It’s a grittier look at life in the city and its nightlife.

2. Plan Cœur (The Hookup Plan)

This rom-com moves fast with lots of slang, but its take on a group of friends navigating modern love and family obligations in Paris is endearing, funny, and heartwarming. In the process, it transcends a setup that can sound campy: A woman is miserable after getting dumped by her boyfriend, so her two best friends hire a male prostitute to date her to pull her out of her funk.

3. Bonfire of Destiny

Co-produced by French television network TF1 and Netflix, this show is based on the true story of a tragic fire at an 1897 charity bazaar in Paris that killed 126 people, primarily women from the city’s upper classes. The miniseries follows the lives of 3 women in the aftermath of the fire to explore gender and class at the turn of the century.

4. Lupin

Omar Sy stars in one of Netflix’s biggest international hits. He plays Assane Diop, whose passion for famed literary thief Arsène Lupin has led him to follow in his footsteps. Diop hatches a series of elaborate schemes to clear the name of his father and seek revenge against the wealthy businessman who falsely accused him of a crime.