We have some excellent news about Rivals season 2
Rivals was some of the most fun we’ve ever had watching TV, and with a first look at the new season, here’s what I’m hoping to see.
It’s bleak outside. Disgusting! The most February of all the Februarys. But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
The second season of Rivals is back in a few short months (the first batch will drop on 15 May, with a three-episode premiere, and the second batch will follow later in the year on Disney+). The first season of the drama, based on the seminal 1985 novel of the same name by Jilly Cooper, was a masterpiece: a joyous explosion of sex, horniness, 80s hair, massive houses and raucous parties set around Corinium, a regional TV station with huge aspirations in the Cotswold countryside.
And if the new trailer is anything to go by, part two is going to be even more fun. Sarah (Emily Atack) is fronting “the naughtiest show on TV” and Lord Baddingham (David Tennant) is ‘joking’ about having a terrible headache after being smashed in the skull by Cameron (Nafessa Williams) at the end of season one. There’s shower sex, tiny trunks and forbidden romance – Ilya and Shane at the cottage must be quaking!
Check it out for yourself below.
As there’s a lot more of the 720-page book it’s based on to get through, the new season will contain a glorious 12 episodes. And things are set to get even spicier, thanks to several new characters joining the fray, including Hayley Atwell as Helen Gordon, Rupert’s ex-wife and the mother to his daughters; and Rupert Everett as Malise Gordon, Helen’s new husband and her ex’s former show-jumping coach.
“Rivals returns in 2026 with even more wit, desire and jaw-dropping twists,” say the show’s creators. “Power struggles intensify, rivalries deepen and ambition pushes loyalties to the brink.” And while that sounds exactly what I’m after, I’m also hoping for…
Credit: Disney+
True romance
Not for a minute did I think that one of the most romantic things I’d ever watch on TV would be Danny Dyer (and his moustache) quietly seeing Katherine Parkinson as a whole and desirable woman. Followed by shagging her in a garden. But here we are.
So, I need to see a lot more of their love story, and I really need Lizzie (Parkinson) to leave her spineless, cheating husband, James (Oliver Chris), for a great life with Freddie (Dyer). I’d also like to see a pregnant Sarah (Emily Atack) ditch James too – he doesn’t deserve either of them.
Will they, won’t they?
I’ve read Rivals (when I was probably far too young), and I know that Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Taggie (Bella Maclean) give in to their chemistry and defy the threats from Taggie’s dad to get together. I’m interested to see if it plays out in the same way on screen after confessing their true feelings at the end of series one – and how Cameron will react, given she’s also ready to marry the notorious playboy to secure a visa.
On the subject of Taggie, if anyone reading this knows where she got her perfect Levi’s, my wardrobe would be grateful.
Credit: Disney+
Credit: Disney+
The return of Baddingham
We know now that Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant), the head of Corinium TV, is still alive after being hit by Cameron (Williams), which is leaving me conflicted. He’s obviously a horrible, manipulative man, but Tennant plays him with such delicious vigour; I’m also glad he lives to slime his way through another day. As long as he gets his comeuppance from both Cameron and his wife (Monica Dolan).
Credit: Disney+
Moustaches
Also, more moustaches. I’ve already mentioned Freddie’s upper lip hair, but Declan’s (Aidan Gillan) is equally impressive and surprisingly manly. I’m ready for all men to have full moustaches now.
Nudity
One of the surprising joys of Rivals is the nakedness ratio. In an interview for The Times, the show’s lead writer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, said: “We’ve been ‘equal opportunities’ in our nudity. There’s a willy for every pair of tits.” I also loved how they didn’t shy away from showing female desire and pleasure.
It’s interesting, isn’t it, that it takes a show set in the 80s to showcase that. Keep it up…
Credit: Disney+
Charles and Gerald
My second favourite relationship of the series was between Charles (Gary Lamont) and Gerald (Hubert Burton). The pair couldn’t be together publicly because, well… Thatcher and the 80s.
At the end of series one, Gerald, a politician, suggests marrying a nice girl for appearances’ sake so they could stay together. While I don’t love that as a solution, I’m rooting for them as a couple and desperate for them to stay together. And as the trailer shows Charles kissing someone, I am hoping they find a way.
Until the show’s May launch date, amuse yourself by watching this clip of the first table read for season two (on repeat).
Images: Disney+
