‘Emily in Paris’ assistant director dies during filming in Venice
Tragedy has struck the Emily in Paris team, as assistant director Diego Borella passed away while filming the new season for Netflix.
The 47-year-old director was on set in Venice, shooting the rom-com show, when he reportedly collapsed in front of the whole crew. As per La Repubblica, the assistant director was rushed to the Hotel Danieli.
However, despite the best efforts from a medical team, Borella passed away shortly after. He allegedly suffered a heart attack. Consequently, the Emily in Paris team has halted further production on the final episode of the fifth season.
In an unfortunate turn of events, sources suggest that Borella was reportedly prepping to shoot the final scene of the show when he collapsed, at around 19:00 on the eve of August 21st.
The Venice health service also provided an update, stating, “Our ambulance arrived at 18.42 (on Thursday). Medics made attempts to resuscitate him. But in the end, all efforts proved fruitless. At around 19.30, he was pronounced deceased.” Borella passed away in the Italian city in which he was born.
Production was set to wrap up on August 25th. So far, the show is still set for a December 18th release.
A new synopsis released this week for the fifth season reads: “Now the head of Agence Grateau Rome, Emily faces professional and romantic challenges as she adapts to life in a new city. But just as everything falls into place, a work idea backfires, and the fallout cascades into heartbreak and career setbacks.”
The new foray into Italy was a decision made to “stay ahead of the audience,” creator Darren Star shared recently with Tudum. “It doesn’t mean she’s not going to be in Paris, but she’s going to have a presence in Rome,” he stated, hence the season finale taking place in Venice.
The new season does not include series regular Camille Razat, the French model and actor who played Camille. However, Lucien Laviscount, The Bye Bye Man actor who plays Emily’s former boyfriend Alfie in the show, will return full-time to the new season.
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