Rivals season 2: Release date speculation and latest news

While the Jilly Cooper adaptation series didn't pick up any gongs at the recent BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises, it was nominated for a variety of accolades.

On the night, Danny Dyer revealed that season 2 may be better than the first, saying: "This series is so much better than the first. It’s that difficult second album thing, but honestly the writers and the producers have absolutely nailed it and I can’t wait for people to see it.

"It’s a beautiful job for me [and] I love working with Katherine [Parkinson]."

It was recently announced that filming on season 2 was under way, boasting an increase to 12 episodes from its original run of eight and confirming the fate of David Tennant's Lord Tony Baddingham.

Confirming the news to Deadline, Tennant said he's not allowed to reveal any further details aside from the fact that Tony isn't dead. He said: "He's not dead... he's there. We'll see what the accident has done to him."

The series follows Lord Tony as he clashes with Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Declan O'Hara (Aidan Turner) in a bid for control of the TV airwaves, building to an epic finale that leaves multiple questions unanswered and brilliantly paves the way for a dramatic second season.

But when exactly will this second instalment be coming to Disney+? Read on for everything you need to know.

Will there be a Rivals season 2?

Yes! Rivals is officially returning for a second season, with news of the renewal being announced back in December 2024, just a couple of months after the release of season 1.

On the announcement of season 2, Rivals author Jilly Cooper (who also serves as executive producer on the series) said: "Nearly 40 years after my novel Rivals was published, I’ve adored seeing the world fall in love with my beloved characters - Rutshire’s Finest.

"It has been a fairy tale come true working with [producers] Happy Prince and Disney+ on the first season. I’m orgasmic with excitement and cannot wait for the return of my superhero Rupert Campbell-Black and the rest of the characters in season 2!"

Rivals showrunner Dominic Treadwell-Collins also said: "It's been magical to receive the love back from viewers that we put into Rivals. The Rivals team set out to create people's favourite television show, something enduring that our audience would take to their hearts and watch and rewatch.

"We're delighted that we're returning to Rutshire with Jilly and Disney+. It's a special place to be."

After the success of the first season, it was to be expected that season 2 was a given, and it seems as though Treadwell-Collins not only has his eyes set on season 2, but also further afield.

In an interview with Digital Spy, he said: "We've got the rights to all of Jilly Cooper's novels. We get through about half of the book in this series, so there's hope for more."

Similarly, he said he has hopes of a "Jilly Cooper-verse" in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

He continued: "We’ve already started working on scripts. We’re laying down little Easter eggs for the viewers. We’re being really rigorous. But what’s great is the team are fans. We watch telly, we are the audience, so we’re going to be harder on ourselves than the audience ever will."

When could Rivals season 2 be released?

There is no confirmed release date for Rivals season 2 just yet.

But we do know that filming on the new season has kicked off this May, with the announcement also bringing the news that the second season will boast 12 episodes, four more than season 1.

Announcements will likely be made in due course about a season 2 release, but seeing as though initial casting announcements for Rivals were revealed back in March 2023 and the first season was released in October 2024, it seems as though production on season 2 could be wrapped up within a year.

That means we could possibly be looking at a late 2025 or early 2026 release date for Rivals season 2.

Of course, that all depends on the production schedules, so watch this space for further details.

What could happen in Rivals season 2?

Well, the Rivals season 1 finale certainly saw some plot lines start to develop – meaning that there's plenty to explore in season 2.

If the second season of Rivals were to follow on directly from season 1, we would assume that we would see the fallout from Cameron's assault of Tony and find out how the attack impacts the Corinium MD.

Seeing as he was actually supposed to be at home with Lady Monica (Claire Rushbrook) to talk about their marriage, it could very well turn out that Lady Monica could leave Tony anyway. We do now know that Tennant is reprising his role and that Tony survives, so how that will play out for everyone, we'll just have to wait and see.

Since he proposed to Cameron and was ready to divorce Lady Monica for her, Cameron's betrayal of joining Venturer and sleeping with Rupert (Alex Hassell) would likely spawn Tony's villainous streak into something else entirely.

As for the other characters, Rupert and Taggie (Bella Maclean) shared their first kiss and made their feelings known for one another despite knowing that Rupert was tied up in the TV franchise with Cameron.

He's also loyal to Declan, Taggie's father, and did promise not to go near Taggie, so, if their feelings for each other were made public, there's every possibility that it could lead to the implosion of Rupert and Declan's working partnership.

After finding out that her husband was sleeping with co-host Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack), Lizzie (Katherine Parkinson) made the decision to bite the bullet and have an affair with Freddie (Danny Dyer). Although she'd not acted on her feelings until the finale, the pair seemed smitten as they finally did what they wanted instead of remaining loyal to partners that don't make them happy.

But all was not well for Sarah as she not only found out she was pregnant, but was also delivered a blow when Tony revealed that her new gossip show co-host would be journalist Beattie Johnson (Annabel Scholey).

Seeing as the show was supposed to be Sarah's major TV break, she was far from happy being partnered with Beattie, so could she make the decision to cross over to Venturer? And who is the father of her unborn baby – Paul (Rufus Jones) or James (Oliver Chris)?

Although Venturer had won the franchise bid, their journey is far from over as they have to prove themselves to be a worthy challenger to Corinium. Even so, we'll likely see Declan have to reckon with Maud's walkout. What that means for their marriage and her relationship with her children, we'll just have to wait and see.

Saying that, though, Rivals is just one of the novels in the original Jilly Cooper book series, so if the TV show were to follow the order of the books, it could very well be a possibility that a second season could follow a different set of characters entirely.

The novel after Rivals, Polo!, actually revolves around Ricky France-Lynch, so it could be that the TV drama may merge some of the book material into the series as we're sure viewers want a continuation of the dramatic cliffhangers from season 1.

Showrunner Dominic Treadwell-Collins previously teased that the second season is going to be "bigger, better, bolder, stronger".

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Treadwell-Collins also said that there are plans for even more, noting: "We know we want to keep coming back with the show.”

Who could star in Rivals season 2?

Casting details for Rivals season 2 have now been confirmed, with it being announced that all of the main cast will be reprising their roles in the forthcoming instalment.

Seeing as Tony was clubbed over the head with an award by his lover and Corinium producer Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams), it was a mystery if he would be returning, but it has now been confirmed that Tennant will be reprising his role.

The confirmed Rivals cast that are returning for a second season are as follows:

• Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black
• David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham
• Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara
• Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook
• Bella Maclean as Taggie O'Hara
• Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O'Hara
• Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker
• Oliver Chris as James Vereker
• Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones
• Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones
• Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham
• Luke Pasqualino as Basil 'Bas' Baddingham
• Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton
• Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton
• Annabel Scholey as Beattie Johnson

Rivals season 1 is available to stream on Disney+. Sign up to Disney+ now for £4.99 per month or £79.90 for a full year.

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