Forget Emily In Paris: 10 Better Netflix Shows About France

Netflix’s hit show “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, 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, mostly 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.

5. Braqueurs : La série (Gangland)

Medhi, a veteran thief, gets caught in the middle of a feud between drug traffickers. He must team up with Liana, an apprentice thief, to protect their families.

6. Jusqu’ici tout va bien (Thicker Than Water)

A journalist’s life descends into chaos when she helps her brother evade the police, putting her family in the crosshairs of a drug lord. Nawell Madani co-created and stars in this series.

7. Drôle (Standing Up)

Stand-up comedy hasn’t traditionally been a big thing in France until recently. But the scene is flourishing now. This series follows four would-be stand-up stars as they try to develop their acts and their careers at a comedy club in Paris. Notably, this who was created by Fanny Herrero who also created Dix Pour Cent (Call My Agent).

8. Les 7 vies de Léa (The 7 Lives of Léa)

Blending fantasy and drama, this series follows a girl who discovers a skeleton. She is then transported back to 1991 where she tries to piece together the mystery of the young man’s death and try to prevent it. But each morning, she wakes up in the body of a different person.

9. Marianne

This is for fans of horror and thrillers. A young author learns that the monsters she has imagined for her books are starting to come to life. She must travel back to the small village where she grows up to confront the secrets of her past to fight the demons.

10. Transatlantic

This is one of the latest entries, but it’s already proving to be a hit. The series takes place in Marseille during World War II just after the French have surrendered to the Germans. The Southern city is in the Vichy Republic which was created as part of the armistice with Germany. Ostensibly “free,” this part of France is still subject to German influence. In this setting, a band of Americans tries to help refugees fleeing the war escape to the U.S. The series is based on a real-life group who tried to smuggle out Jews, artists, and prominent scientists who were in danger if caught by the Nazis.