‘Rivals’ Sets Season 2 Return to Rutshire
Television's most unabashedly entertaining soap will be back sooner than you think.
Pack your bags; we’re heading back to Rutshire sooner than you think. Hulu has confirmed a November 11 return date for the critically acclaimed, delicious soapy drama Rivals, truly one of the most unabashedly entertaining programs on television at the moment.
Set in 1980s England among the obnoxiously wealthy residents of the fictional county of Rutshire, Rivals primarily revolves around the longstanding feud between former Olympian-turned-Tory politician Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and ambitious television executive Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant). Their battle has taken many forms, from local politics and sexual partners to the fight for control of the independent Central South West television franchise, which has animated much of the show’s run so far.
The Rivals midseason finale ended with a major departure from the late Dame Jilly Cooper’s series of novels. Claire Rushbrook’s Lady Monica Baddingham was killed in a car crash during a freak hurricane (yes, in the Cotswolds!) after discovering the truth of her husband’s latest infidelity.
Monica’s death will undoubtedly shake up everything on the show’s canvas, leaving her furiously grieving spouse free to enact all sorts of unhinged revenge on those he feels have wronged him. Namely, Rupert, his chief adversary and rival, and the rest of the crew of rival television broadcaster Venturer.
Here’s the synopsis for the season’s final six episodes.
Picking up after the gut-wrenching mid-series finale, Tony Baddingham and Declan O’Hara’s battle for the Cotswolds crown reaches fever pitch, while Rupert Campbell-Black is forced to confront his own personal demons. Against a backdrop of hedonistic parties, Bonfire Night chaos, the Hampshire Hunt Ball and a turbulent Christmas, affairs unravel, alliances fracture and rivalries intensify. Caught in the middle of the frenzied franchise war, Taggie O’Hara must find the courage to follow her heart, while those around her face the consequences of ambition, power and secrets that can no longer remain hidden. But as Season 2 draws to a close, who will get their happy ending?
Rachael Stirling (Heartstopper) joins the cast as Monica’s younger sister, Araminta Pemberton, for the back half of the season, along with Rupert Evans (Gone) as headmaster David Hawkley and Santiago Cabrera (Star Trek: Picard) as Argentinian Polo legend Alejandro Mendoza.
While we probably shouldn’t hold out hope for seeing Rusbrook again outside of a possible hallucination by her grieving husband, the bulk of the series’ sprawling main cast will return for the season’s back half.
Alongside Tennant and Hassell, the series’ cast includes Bella Maclean (Sex Education) as Taggie O’Hara; Aidan Turner (Poldark) and Victoria Smurfit (Bloodlands) as her parents, Declan and Maud, plus Catriona Chandler (Pistol) and Gabriel Tierney (Enola Holmes 2) as her siblings, Patrick and Caitlin.
Luca Pasqualino (Criminal Record) is Tony’s brother, Basil Baddingham. Louis Landau (Kennedy), Amelie Child Villiers (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), and Olive Tennant (David’s daughter) are the Baddingham children, Archie, Beatrice, and Camilla.
Hayley Atwell (Heartstopper) is Rupert’s ex-wife, Helen; Rupert Everett (The Serpent Queen) is her second husband (and Rupert’s mentor), Maisie Gordon; with Charlotte Rice-Foley (Black Doves) and Leo Weston (Lord of the Flies) as the Campbell-Black children, Tabitha and Marcus. Nafessa Williams (Black Lightning) is Cameron Cook, Rupert’s current squeeze.
(Photos: Hulu)
The series also includes Katherine Parkinson (Doc Martin) and Oliver Chris (My Lady Jane) as James and Lizzie Vereker; Danny Dyer (Henpocalypse!) and Lisa McGrillis (Deadwater Fell) as Freddie and Valerie Jones; and Emily Atack (The Inbetweeners) and Rufus Jones (W1A) as Paul and Sarah Stratton. Supporting cast includes Annabel Scholey (The Couple Next Door), Gary Lamont (Boiling Point), Hubert Burton (Miss Austen), Eliot Salt (Slow Horses), Bryony Hannah (Call the Midwife), Lara Peake (Mood), Selina Griffiths (The Larkins), and Maggie Steed (Silent Witness).
Season 2 is written by Dominic Treadwell-Collins (A Very English Scandal), Laura Wade (The Riot Club), Sophie Goodhart, Sam Hoare, Kefi Chadwick, Mimi Hare, Clare Namylor, Sorcha Kurien-Walsh, and Dare Aiyegbayo, with Elliot Hegarty (Ted Lasso), Jamie J. Johnson, and Dee Koppang O’Leary directing. Executive producers include Treadwell-Collins, Wade, Cooper, and Felicity Blunt, along with Jonny Richards for Disney+ EMEA Scripted Content. Eliza Mellor (The Midwich Cuckoos) is the series producer.
Rivals Season 2, Part 2 will debut on Disney+ (under the Hulu vertical in the States) with a three-episode premiere on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and then stream one episode a week through the beginning of December.
Season 1 and Season 2, Part 1 are streaming on Disney+/Hulu. Season 3 is already greenlit and is expected to debut in 2027.
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