Disney+ has confirmed the return of its award-winning drama Rivals, with the second season set to arrive later this year, promising heightened conflict, sharper wit and escalating desire.
The new season continues the screen adaptation of the late Dame Jilly Cooper’s novel Rivals, expanding further into the competitive world of polo while layering in fresh twists, intensifying boardroom battles and more complex romantic entanglements.
Season two will again unfold against the backdrop of 1980s excess, as the struggle for the Central South West television franchise reaches boiling point. The power struggle between Corinium and Venturer enters a darker phase, with Lord Tony Baddingham escalating his campaign to crush his opponents. More calculating than ever, he turns to scandal and manipulation, targeting those closest to him in a bid to maintain control.
Away from the corporate warfare, the personal lives of the Rutshire set unravel. Ambition places marriages under strain, secret affairs threaten to tear families apart and buried truths resurface with destructive force. As loyalties fracture and rivalries deepen, the cost of victory becomes increasingly clear.
The returning ensemble includes David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham, Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black, Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara, Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook, Bella Maclean as Taggie O’Hara, Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker, Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones, Victoria Smurfit as Maud O’Hara, Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham, Oliver Chris as James Vereker, Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones, Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton, Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton, Luca Pasqualino as Basil ‘Bas’ Baddingham, Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O’Hara, Annabel Scholey as Beattie Johnson, Gary Lamont as Charles Fairburn, Hubert Burton as Gerald Middleton, Gabriel Tierney as Patrick O’Hara, Lara Peake as Daysee Butler and Bryony Hannah as Dierdre Kilpatrick.
New faces joining the series include Hayley Atwell as Helen Gordon, the former wife of Rupert Campbell-Black, and Rupert Everett as Malise Gordon, her husband and Campbell-Black’s former mentor. Additional guest cast members include Maxim Ays, Holly Cattle, Oliver Dench, Amanda Lawrence, Bobby Lockwood, Eliot Salt and Jonny Weldon.
Rivals is produced by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, and executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Alexander Lamb, Felicity Blunt, Elliot Hegarty, Laura Wade, Dame Jilly Cooper and Jonny Richards for Disney+. Eliza Mellor returns as series producer. Writing credits include Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Laura Wade, Sophie Goodhart, Sam Hoare, Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor, Sorcha Kurien-Walsh and Dare Aiyegbayo, with directing duties shared by Elliot Hegarty, Jamie J Johnson and Dee Koppang O’Leary.
All episodes of Season 1 are currently available to stream on Disney+.
