The “Emily in Paris” cast was reportedly shocked by Lucas Bravo’s blunt criticism of the hit Netflix series.
Bravo, 36, raised eyebrows last month when he told French outlet Le Figaro that the show does not “stimulate” him and was debating exiting the series.
His comments quickly went viral online, catching the attention of his co-stars.
“Everyone is so upset about the remarks he made,” a source told Us Weekly on Wednesday.
The insider noted that “there is going to be a lot of tension” on set if the actor decides to come back for Season 5.
However, they insisted the “show will go on with or without Lucas.”
“The show is ‘Emily in Paris’ — not ‘Gabriel in Paris,’” they added.
The Andrew Fleming-led series became an instant success following its October 2020 release and was renewed for its fifth season in September.
Lily Collins plays the titular character, a 30-something woman who moves to Paris for work and finds herself in a messy love triangle with Bravo’s character, a chef named Gabriel.
After lots of ups and downs — including a fake pregnancy scare — Season 4 ended with Emily moving to Rome with a new love interest as a heartbroken Gabriel is left behind in the City of Love.
Although most fans were left excited about the next chapter, Bravo was not happy about his character’s development — or lack thereof.
“I would like him to find a bit of panache again,” he said of his character during an interview with Le Figaro.
Although he admitted the show was “good entertainment” and “an escape,” he felt his character’s on-again, off-again relationship was “a bit archaic.”
“I don’t want to be part of a cog that tends not to consider the intelligence of the spectators,” he said, noting that he doesn’t “really have any freedom” on set.
Bravo doubled down on his criticisms a week later, telling IndieWire his character has been “slowly turned into guacamole.”
“The ‘sexy chef’ was very much part of me in Season 1 and we grew apart season after season because of the choices he makes and because of the direction they make him take,” he said. “I’ve never been so far away from him.”
The “Ticket to Paradise” actor said it’s “not fun” watching a “character [he] loves so much” become an entirely different person.
“It makes me question if I want to be part of Season 5 […] because my contract ends at Season 4,” he said. “I really want to see if Gabriel gets back to his fun, cheeky, playful, alive self. Because three seasons playing melancholic, sad, depressed, and lost is not fun anymore.”
Although he has tried to “bring nuances” to his character, Bravo said he doesn’t “have much liberty on set.”
“We cannot change a word or an emotion,” he said. “They know what they want and we just have to comply.”
Bravo suggested that showrunners are hesitant to add any big shake-ups to the script after its viral success.
“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 said. “Anything that could go off road is carefully taken back.”
Despite the “lack of risk” from showrunners, the “Libre” actor insisted that he still has a lot of love for the series.
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“I feel like I am not being nice or grateful, but when you love something you want it to be…you want the best version of it,” he concluded.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ve been frustrated with the direction by character is taking. But we’ll see where it goes. The show is not over.”
Along with Collins, Gabriel stars alongside Ashley Park, Lucien Laviscount, Camille Razat, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu and more.
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