Rutshire was never short on glamour, grudges, or the kind of ambition that turned a boardroom decision into a personal vendetta. With season two, Hulu’s “Rivals” is set to get back in the saddle and lean even harder into that central collision: the fight for the Central South West television franchise, and the private lives left in the churn behind it.
Hulu has released the official teaser trailer for the second season of the Emmy and BAFTA award-winning UK Original, which is set to return with David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner, Nafessa Williams, and Bella Maclean back in the ensemble. The new run is also set to bring in guest stars Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett, with season two rolling out in two six-episode batches: the first premieres May 15 with a three-episode launch, and the second arrives later in the year. In the U.S., the series will stream on Hulu (and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers), with Disney+ carrying it internationally.
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Per the season’s official synopsis, the battle for the Central South West television franchise reaches “a fever pitch” as the war between Corinium and Venturer enters a dangerous new phase. Lord Tony Baddingham is described as “more ruthless than ever,” and determined to dismantle his rivals piece by piece—weaponizing scandal and manipulating those closest to him to maintain his grip on power.
That escalation is set against the series’ hedonistic ’80s excess, where professional warfare and personal fallout share the same zip code. The synopsis teases marriages fracturing under the weight of ambition, illicit affairs threatening to shatter families, and long-buried secrets igniting with explosive consequences. As rivalries push everyone to the brink, loyalties are tested, and hearts are broken in the pursuit of victory—raising the season’s guiding question: what is the actual cost of war?
Alongside Tennant, Hassell, Turner, Williams, and Maclean, returning cast members include Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Victoria Smurfit, Claire Rushbrook, Oliver Chris, Lisa McGrillis, Emily Atack, Rufus Jones, Luca Pasqualino, Catriona Chandler, Annabel Scholey, Gary Lamont, Hubert Burton, Gabriel Tierney, Lara Peake, and Bryony Hannah.
Atwell leads season two’s guest roster as Helen Gordon, Rupert Campbell-Black’s ex-wife and the mother of his two children, and Everett as her husband, Malise Gordon, Campbell-Black’s former show-jumping coach and mentor. Additional names joining the ensemble include Maxim Ays, Holly Cattle, Oliver Dench, Amanda Lawrence, Bobby Lockwood, Eliot Salt, and Jonny Weldon.
“Rivals” is made by Happy Prince (part of ITV Studios) and executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Alexander Lamb, Felicity Blunt, Elliot Hegarty, Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade, “Rivals” author Dame Jilly Cooper, and, for Disney+, Jonny Richards. Eliza Mellor returns as series producer. The season is written by Treadwell-Collins, Wade, Sophie Goodhart, Sam Hoare, Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor, Sorcha Kurien-Walsh, and Dare Aiyegbayo, and directed by Hegarty, Jamie J Johnson, and Dee Koppang O’Leary. The series is based on Cooper’s novel of the same name, part of the bestselling Rutshire Chronicles, and commissioned by Lee Mason, VP Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA.
Season two premieres May 15 with a three-episode launch, with the second six-episode batch set for later in the year. Watch the first teaser below.
