Emily in Paris writers explain why season 4 was released in two parts

It's no secret that fans aren't super thrilled with Netflix's new tendency to split seasons of its original series in multiple parts. After waiting for a year, or sometimes even two years or more, for the latest season of your favorite show, the last thing you want is to not be able to watch the complete season. Waiting again for a month or more? A lot of viewers have had enough of this trend.

Emily in Paris is the latest Netflix original series to have its newest season split down the middle. The romantic comedy series' fourth season landed a two-part release, with each part containing five episodes. Season 4 part 1 kicked off the romantic fun with five episodes on Aug. 15, leaving viewers to wait until the next five drop on Sept. 12. It's less than a month, but it can still be frustrating.

On the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of Emily in Paris season 4 part 1, writers and executive producers Joe Murphy, Grant Sloss, and Alison Brown answered Deadline's question about the decision to divide season 4 into two parts. You might be surprised to learn that the split season wasn't in the original plan while outlining and planning season 4.

Why Emily in Paris season 4 dropped in five-episode parts

As Murphy explains, breaking season 4 into two five-episode parts wasn't what the writers had in mind as they crafted the season's arc before breaking for the writers' strike. However, because of the writers' strike and then the subsequent actors' strike delaying production on the season, Netflix appears to have made the choice to split the season in parts, seemingly to get new episodes to fans faster.

Here's what executive producer and writer Joe Murphy told Deadline:

"We had actually broken out the season before the writers' strike, and so we didn't have the two parts in mind at that stage, and after coming back from the strike, that's when we got the news, 'Oh, we're going to be in two parts,' and so we did actually have to adjust our story for almost like a midseason cliffhanger, which is exciting."

- Joe Murphy, executive producer/writer

He also noted that as a storyteller, it's "great" to write toward plot twists that move the story forward, such as the major bombshell dropped in season 4 episode 5. However, he still mentioned the inherent challenge in making sure fans were both satisfied and wanted to watch more episodes in part 2. Personally, they were successful in leaving us wanting to know what happens next!

Fellow writers and executive producers Alison Brown and Grant Sloss agreed and called the split "helpful" for the writing process. Brown stated that it pushed the writers to create "a really impactful midseason moment" that forces them to keep building toward or "unwind." Sloss summed up the writers' perspective with, "Structure is good."

Between the three of them, they wrote all but one of season 4 part 1's five episodes, with Sloss writing the premiere, Brown writing episode 2, and Murphy writing the pivotal third and fifth episodes. They have been integral members of the writer's room since season 1 and have written a vast majority of the series' episodes, including more to come in season 4 part 2.

But there you have it! This time around, splitting a 10-episode season into two five-episode parts was Netflix's choice, clearly out of necessity due to the lasting impacts of the strikes' setbacks. Meanwhile, Cobra Kai's sixth and final season was split into three five-episode parts per the writing team's own plans. As frustrating as divided seasons might be, sometimes they help get our favorite shows back on our watch lists sooner and help make the storytelling stronger.

See the trio's explanation for the two-part season in the video below!

Watch Emily in Paris only on Netflix.