Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) and Mindy Chen (Ashley Park) are two of the most amazing girlfriends on television, and their close friendship seems to extend behind the scenes of Netflix's "Emily in Paris," with the first five episodes on Thursday, August 15, Ahead of the two-part "Emily in Paris" Season 4, with the remaining five episodes available on Thursday, September 12, Ashley Park gave insight into how her real-life connection with Collins has benefited the actress on and off screen

In an interview for the July 2024 cover of Harper's Bazaar, Park recalled that she felt an affinity for Collins even before they met She revealed, "Lily doesn't believe me when I tell her this, but I had just started following her on Instagram a week before I got the email requesting an audition (for "Emily in Paris")" I usually have a rule that I only follow people I know or interact with in some way, and Lily was one of the few I followed

In addition to building Emily and Mindy's camaraderie on screen, the actresses' IRL friendship helped them weather the increased attention Park received for her role in the hit drama series Of the show's first season, which was streamed to 58 million households in 2020, she says, "It was a great experience" "It was my first big job on screen, so it was wonderful to be mentored by my 'big sister' in an environment that was a lot more high-octane than I expected"

Such support was also crucial for Park, who was recovering from septic shock after suffering a severe case of tonsillitis earlier this year The shoot was a physical strain like nothing she'd ever endured before," she told Harper's 'But I had to stop venting to myself and think, 'It's okay to feel this way I'm going to put on these stilettos and these latex skirts, and I'm going to give it my best shot When I look at this season and know how much passion and effort I put into it to be there, I can be proud"

As for what viewers of "Emily in Paris" can expect from Mindy Chen, who plays Park in Season 4, Netflix reports that in an upcoming episode she and her band "prepare for Eurovision but run out of money and are forced to scrimp And when Emily navigates the love triangle between Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), there is no doubt she will support her best friend

Tom's Guide will bring you all the behind-the-scenes tidbits, actor insights, character descriptions, on-set photos, and more on "Emilie in Paris" ahead of the fourth season Until then, you can catch up with Mindy, Emily, and other French-set fan favorites of the show by re-watching the first three seasons of the series via your Netflix subscription