Rivals Season 2 is here. Crack open the bubbles!
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: (L to R Top Row) Guest, Luke Pasqualino, Emily Atack, Victoria Smurfit, Lisa McGrillis, Hayley Atwell, Aidan Turner, Alex Hassell, Bella Maclean, Nafessa Williams, David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Annabel Scholey, Olive Tennant, Claire Rushbrook, Oliver Chris, Catriona Chandler, Gary Lamont, Anthony Byrne, (L to R Bottom Row) Gabriel Tierney, Bobby Lockwood, François Civil, Rufus Jones and Hubert Burton attend the World Premiere of "Rivals" Season 2 at BFI IMAX Waterloo on May 13, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett)
As if you didn’t know, Rivals season 2 is here with more romps, rivalry and revelry than you can shake a cocaine-covered stick at
I love the debauchery of Rivals. In a world of worthy dramas, dark crime series and endless scrolling, this is a television show packed with sex, shoulder pads, feuds, cocktails, terrible behaviour and people smoking furiously while destroying each other’s lives. And I love it!
Three new episodes drop tonight on Disney+, kicking off the second season of the wildly successful Jilly Cooper adaptation, and honestly, it looks gloriously unhinged.
Read more – when we went to the premiere of the first season
The new series throws viewers straight back into the battle for the Central South West television franchise, where the war between Corinium and Venturer has become nastier, more personal and considerably more chaotic.
Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara. Ding dong. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Disney+)
Tony, the Big Baddingham Wolf, still terrifyingly manipulative (and obviously not dead – as IF that was going to happen), appears determined to ruin absolutely everybody around him in his pursuit of power. All the while marriages crack, affairs explode and secrets start spilling everywhere across Rutshire.
David Tennant as Tony Baddingham – superbly evil. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Disney+)
And that’s the joy of Rivals: nobody behaves sensibly
Everyone is driven by ego, lust, ambition or revenge… usually all four. This is not subtle television. It’s glossy, dramatic and completely excessive in the way big TV dramas used to be before everything became either dreadfull boring, serious or just background noise while I stare at my phone.
Danny Dyer and Katherine Parkinson as Freddie and Lizzy, the love story we’re all mad for. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Disney+)
I love that it’s also a drama centred around the television industry itself. Rivals comes from a world where TV executives still had swagger, regional television franchises mattered, and power dinners involved enormous glasses of wine and deeply questionable flirting. One can’t imagine the head honchos at Disney+ behaving like this. Or can one?
The cast were out in force this week at the London premiere and afterparty at Spencer House, including David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer and Emily Atack. Judging by the red carpet images alone, Disney clearly knows this series has become one of its biggest grown-up hits.
For anyone who grew up devouring Jilly Cooper novels like me (RIP you absolute LEGEND), or missing the days when television allowed itself to be sexy and ridiculous, Rivals feels like a very welcome return. Hurrah!
The first three episodes are on Disney+ now, with the remaining episodes landing later this year.
Sam is Silver’s founder and editor-in-chief. She’s largely responsible for organising all the things, but still finds time to do the odd bit of writing. Not enough though. Send help.
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