Hulu has revealed the first images from Season 2 of the Emmy and BAFTA-winning UK Original Rivals, giving fans a tantalizing glimpse at the glossy romance saga’s return. The series — which streams in the U.S. on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers, and internationally on Disney+ — will premiere in 2026 and bring audiences right back to the opulent 1980s world of British television warfare and upper-crust intrigue.
Based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s bestselling novel from the Rutshire Chronicles, the second season picks up after that jaw-dropping cliffhanger where Tony’s fate hung in the balance. Now, David Tennant’s Lord Tony Baddingham is back on the march — and out for vengeance. His mission? Stop at nothing to keep Corinium’s media empire unrivaled.
If Season 1 flirted with scandal, Season 2 dives straight into it. Love affairs, power plays, reputation-destroying secrets, and simmering rivalries return to collide across the breathtaking backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside. The stakes are higher, the chemistry is hotter, and the question remains: how much will the price of success cost these families — and who will pay it?
Returning cast members include Tennant alongside Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black, Bella Maclean as Taggie O’Hara, Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara, Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook, 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, and Annabel Scholey.
Is ‘Rivals’ Worth Watching?
Collider‘s Jeff Ewing was a big fan of the series, awarding it 8/10 in his glowing review. Ewing hailed it for “embodying the excesses of its setting”, and singled out Tennant, Hassell, Turner and Maclean for their outstanding turns in the show, adding:
As much as the 1980s was an era of unbridled lust, power, and privilege, so, too, does Rivals gleefully parade its characters’ vices and use them as continual sources for drama. It makes for a fun, thrilling watch, and it’s backed by strong and charismatic performers who add enough complexity to avoid any dramatic ruts. It may take a moment to link up with certain characters, and for interwoven setups to start paying off in satisfying ways, but the ride is charming enough, making Rivals a love letter to extravagance and its perils worth tuning in to.
Rivals is streaming on Hulu now.
via Collider