It’s Official: Rivals Will Return For Season 2
One of the year’s surprise new TV hits was period drama Rivals, which hit Disney+ earlier in 2024 to glowing reviews from critics and starring David Tennant (Good Omens), Alex Hassell (His Dark Materials) Aidan Turner (Podark) and Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd).
And it’s been successful enough that Disney+ has given the green light for a follow-up season, continuing the exploits of Rutshire’s residents and hopefully resolving that cliffhanger ending from the final episode. Joining shows like The White Lotus and Black Mirror for our more anticipated new seasons, here’s all we know so far:
What do we know another Rivals Season 2?
Rivals is based on one of the many romance books of Jilly Cooper, and while those novels were highly popular and counted a number of famous faces as fans, the leap from page to screen doesn’t always guarantee the same level of success. But Rivals cleared the bar and became a hit not just with viewers but also critics, praising its outlandish, fun characters and storyline. Set in Rutshire (a fictional town, but located in the Cotswolds), it follows the lives of a number of residents in the 1980s and their sexually charged exploits. Season 2 is set to see more from Rupert Campbell Black (Hassell), Declan O’Hara (Turner) and Cameron (Nafessa Williams).
One of the big questions for Season 2 is whether Lord Baddinghan (Tennant) will return- seeing as how he was seemingly killed at the close of season 1. He’s hit pretty hard over the head with a TV award by Cameron after an argument, and it certainly looks like he’s a goner- but in the world of the Rutshire Chronicles, anything can happen. There’s plenty of other things up in the air, like Rupert’s relationship with TV host Declan’s daughter Taggie- so there’s plenty more to come. Dame Jilly Cooper, who also executive produces the show, commented, “Nearly 40 years after my novel Rivals was published, I’ve adored seeing the world fall in love with my beloved characters – Rutshire’s Finest… …[I] cannot wait for the return of my superhero Rupert Campbell-Black and the rest of the characters in season two!”
There’s no word yet on when season 2 of Rivals is set to arrive, but the renewal means that production on it should be full steam ahead. We’ll have to sit tight for more steamy antics from Rupert and co.- but for now you can watch the whole of Season 1 on Disney+
