Hulu has given the green light to a second season of Rivals, it’s saucy drama based on Jilly Cooper’s novel. The series, which follows the tangled lives of the wealthy and powerful in the cutthroat world of 1980s British television, will return to continue the saga of ambition, infidelity, and big hair.
The first season, which concluded with a dramatic cliffhanger (or several, depending on how you count), left viewers dangling like a forgotten plot point. Will the tangled web of relationships unravel further? Can anyone in this world maintain even a façade of respectability? And, perhaps most importantly, will the shoulder pads get even bigger?
Rivals features a sprawling ensemble cast, including Alex Hassell, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, David Tennant, and Aidan Turner, each playing a character more deliciously devious than the last. The series has drawn praise for its portrayal of a specific time and place – a world of lavish estates, ruthless ambition, and questionable fashion choices.
The renewal is hardly a surprise. The show’s mix of melodrama, nostalgia, and social satire seems tailor-made for the current TV landscape. With Season 1 readily available on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (UK and international), there’s plenty of time to catch up before the next round of backstabbing and bed-hopping begins.
Rivals is a Happy Prince production for Hulu. Executive producers are Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Alexander Lamb, Felicity Blunt, and Elliot Hegarty.
