Ever since he was tapped to create Beverly Hills, at the age of 27, Darren Star has had an innate sense of what audiences want. And under the tutelage of executive producer Aaron Spelling—whose legendary career of plus television credits included hits like The Mod Squad , Charlie's Angels, and Dynasty —Star honed those instincts. He envisioned as a drama about teenage life that didn't shy away from real issues like sex and sexuality, even when network censors and advertisers balked.
It quickly became a generation-defining hit. When his follow-up, Melrose Place , didn't initially pop off when applying that same earnest tone to a group of single West Hollywood somethings, he pivoted.
It was almost an act of desperation: 'How can I turn this ship around and make this show something just totally outrageous and soapy and watchable? When broadcast network restrictions cramped his style, he pivoted again. Even his publishing world dramedy, Younger, found a loyal audience deep into the cable dial on TV Land, a network then known for airing musty reruns of Gunsmoke and Hogan's Heroes.
Along the way, Star developed a particular reputation for having rare insight into women's desires—even though he's often countered that he doesn't create shows with the intention of targeting any one demographic. Still, his shows often feature iconic female characters clad in impossibly chic wardrobes by Star's longtime collaborator, costume designer Patricia Field, who spend their days climbing the corporate ladder and their nights climbing onto chiseled paramours.
Some call these shows a fantasy; Star sees them as authentic emotional stories served to entertain—because isn't that the whole point of the entertainment industry? No Darren Star show embodies his contemporary approach to entertainment more than Emily in Paris , which dropped its third season on Netflix over the holidays. The show is partly Star's love letter to the glamour of Paris a city he's been enamored with since his teens , with a protagonist who embodies both the winningest and messiest instincts of her foremother, Carrie Bradshaw.
