Rivals returns today with its second season, promising more outrageous antics, scandal, and 1980s excess. The series, adapted from Dame Jilly Cooper's cult Rutshire Chronicles, is a biting satire of Britain's affluent rural set. Critics have praised the new season, with The Independent's Nick Hilton calling it “well-written, well-acted and enormously fun,” while The Guardian awarded it five stars, writing, “if I could give this exquisite bonkbuster 10,000 stars, I would.”
The drama centres on the feud between ex-Olympian Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and media mogul Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), following a ruthless battle for control of a local television franchise. The cast also includes Aidan Turner, Emily Atack, Danny Dyer, and Katherine Parkinson. The trailer shows Baddingham's angry return, determined to bring down Campbell-Black and Declan O'Hara's rival company, Venturer.
New characters include Sebbie (Maxim Ays) and Dommie Carlisle (Bobby Lockwood), while newcomers Hayley Atwell plays Campbell-Black's ex-wife Helen Gordon, and Rupert Everett portrays her new husband Malise, once Campbell-Black's showjumping mentor. The season explores steamy affairs and make-or-break pressures for couples, including trouble for Rupert and Taggie, and a blossoming romance for Freddie and Lizzie.
Season two of Rivals premieres today (Friday, 15 May) on Disney+, which costs from £5.99 per month. The season consists of 12 episodes, released in two six-episode batches, with the second half airing later this year.
