Diego Borella: Emily in Paris Assistant Director Dies at 47

You sit down to watch the season finale of a glossy Netflix comedy, expecting fashion and romance — not a memorial. But that’s exactly what happened with Emily in Paris Season 5. The closing credits carried a quiet, powerful tribute to a crew member who never made it home from set: Diego Borella, a 47-year-old assistant director from Venice who collapsed and died while filming in his hometown.

Age at death: 47 ·
Date of death: August 21, 2025 ·
Role: Assistant Director ·
Production: Emily in Paris Season 5 ·
Location: Venice, Italy ·
Tribute episode: Season 5 finale

A look at the known facts reveals a tight, fast-moving story — and several lingering questions.

Six key data points, one pattern: a local crew member’s sudden death triggered a global show’s most personal moment.

What happened with Diego Borella?

• Diego Borella collapsed suddenly while filming Emily in Paris Season 5 in Venice. The incident occurred as the crew prepared to shoot a scene at Hotel Danieli, a historic waterfront hotel on the Grand Canal (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).
• He died at age 47 on August 21, 2025. The Venice health service reported that an ambulance arrived at 18:42 local time, and he was pronounced deceased at approximately 19:30 (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).
• Production was suspended after the incident. Netflix and the crew expressed condolences, and filming paused to allow the team to grieve.

What happened to the assistant director of Emily in Paris?

According to Italian media reporting translated by international outlets, Borella collapsed in front of colleagues shortly before the crew was set to begin filming a scene at the hotel. The incident was sudden and took everyone on set by surprise (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).

The implication: the production’s pause and eventual tribute highlight the real-world impact of a sudden, tragic loss on a tightly-knit filming schedule.

What happened to Diego Borella in Emily in Paris?

Borella wasn’t in front of the camera. He worked behind the scenes as an assistant director — the person whose job is to keep the production moving, manage the schedule, and coordinate the crew. His death on August 21, 2025, interrupted filming for Emily in Paris Season 5, which was shooting on location in his hometown of Venice (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).

Who passed away filming Emily in Paris?

Diego Borella, a 47-year-old assistant director from Venice, is the crew member who died during production of the Netflix series in August 2025 (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)). His death was the first on-set fatality reported for the series since its debut in 2020.

The implication: the story of Borella’s death is not just about the tragedy itself, but about the gap between what’s been reported and what remains private — a gap that the show’s tribute tried to respect.

Who is Diego Borella?

Diego Borella was a local hire who worked as an assistant director on Emily in Paris during its Venice filming block. He was born in 1978 in Venice, Italy, and was deeply familiar with the city’s logistics — a key asset for a production shooting on location in a complex urban environment (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).

• Borella’s role was that of an assistant director, specifically identified as a third assistant director by some industry sources (IMDb (industry database)).
• Before Emily in Paris, he had worked on the Italian medical drama Doc: In Your Hands (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).
• His Instagram profile, which had roughly 1,200 followers, showcased his life in Venice and behind-the-scenes glimpses of his work in the film industry.

What was Diego Borella’s role in Emily in Paris?

As an assistant director, Borella was part of the Italian crew that supported the main production team during the Venice leg of filming. Assistant directors are responsible for coordinating the set, managing call times, and ensuring scenes run according to schedule. In Borella’s case, he was a local hire — someone who knew Venice well enough to help a large international production navigate the city’s unique logistical challenges (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).

Where was Diego Borella from?

Borella was a Venetian native, born and raised in Venice in 1978. His connection to the city was not only professional but personal — he was working on a show that had come to film in his backyard (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).

How old was Diego Borella?

Diego Borella was 47 years old at the time of his death. He was born in 1978, making him 47 in August 2025 (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)).

His age has been consistently reported across multiple authoritative outlets, including The Telegraph, Entertainment Weekly, and Deadline.

What this means: the age data is straightforward and confirmed, but it also underscores the unexpected nature of his death — a healthy, working professional in his 40s who collapsed without warning.

Who was the tribute at the end of Emily in Paris?

The Season 5 finale of Emily in Paris included a title card dedicated to Diego Borella. The card appeared before the credits at the end of the episode and read: “In memory of Diego Borella” (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment news authority)).

• The tribute was confirmed by Netflix and the production team. It appeared in the December 2025 broadcast of the season finale (Deadline (entertainment industry news)).
• Creator Darren Star commented on the dedication, saying Borella was “part of our Italian team in Venice” and that the team “wanted to pay our respects” (Deadline (entertainment industry news)).
• The dedication was placed in the credits rather than integrated into the storyline — a deliberate choice to keep the tribute separate from the show’s fictional world (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment news authority)).

Why was the tribute included?

The tribute served as a public acknowledgment of Borella’s contribution to the series and as a commemorative gesture from the cast and crew. Darren Star’s statement emphasized that Borella was a valued member of the local production team, and the dedication was a way to honor him in the context of the show he helped create (Deadline (entertainment industry news)).

Which episode featured the tribute?

The tribute appeared in the Season 5 finale, which was set in Venice — the same city where Borella died. The episode aired in December 2025 on Netflix (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment news authority)).

The trade-off: by placing the tribute in the credits, the show avoided making Borella’s death part of its fictional storyline — a respectful choice that also means many casual viewers may have missed it entirely.

Was Diego Borella married?

Public records and social media do not confirm Borella’s marital status. No official statement about a spouse has been released by Netflix, the production team, or any family representatives.

• His Instagram profile, which had approximately 1,200 followers and was publicly accessible, did not mention a wife or partner.
• No obituary or official memorial notice has been published by family members, making personal details difficult to verify.
• Italian privacy laws and the family’s apparent desire for discretion have kept personal matters out of the press.

The implication: the absence of confirmed marital information is not unusual in cases where the deceased is not a public figure. Borella’s family has chosen to grieve privately, and the media has largely respected that boundary.

Timeline

A timeline of key events in Diego Borella’s life and death, drawn from verified reports and industry records.

• 1978: Diego Borella born in Venice, Italy. (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper))
• 2020: Worked on the Italian TV series Doc: In Your Hands and began working on Emily in Paris. (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper))
• August 21, 2025: Collapsed suddenly while filming Emily in Paris Season 5 at Hotel Danieli in Venice. Ambulance arrived at 18:42; pronounced dead at 19:30. (The Telegraph (UK national newspaper))
• December 2025: Season 5 finale aired on Netflix with a title card dedication: “In memory of Diego Borella.” (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment news authority))

Confirmed facts vs. What’s unclear

Key perspectives on the incident

“Diego was part of our Italian team in Venice. We wanted to pay our respects in a way that felt appropriate.”

— Darren Star, creator of Emily in Paris, as reported by Deadline (entertainment industry news)

“The Venetian assistant director collapsed in front of his colleagues before he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.”

— The Telegraph (UK national newspaper)

Production on the Netflix series was suspended after Borella’s death, according to The Telegraph. The tribute appeared before the credits at the end of the season 5 finale, Entertainment Weekly reported.

Diego Borella’s story is not one of celebrity glamour but of the real, human cost that sits behind every frame of television. His death on the set of Emily in Paris in Venice transformed a local crew member into an international name — but the unanswered questions about how and why he died remain. For the production team and Netflix, the tribute in the finale was a small gesture. For viewers who saw that title card, it was a reminder that every show is built by people who don’t make it onto the screen. For Borella’s family, the privacy they have maintained may be the most telling detail of all.

The series finale included a heartfelt tribute to Diego Borella that honored his contributions to the show.

Frequently asked questions

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