‘Rivals’: David Tennant, Alex Hassell & Aidan Turner Tease More Scandals & Romance

Hold on to your crumpets, Anglophiles. The cheekiest, trickiest bunch of Brits this side of Bridgerton are back, and this time, the bed-hoppers from across the pond are lathering up for one hell of a soapy showdown in Rivals Season 2.

Based on Jilly Cooper‘s 1988 romantic page-turner — the second installment of her Rutshire Chronicles book series — Hulu’s lively adaptation instantly hooked fans with its witty, sex-soaked first season. With shades of Succession, Dynasty, and Industry, the 1980s-set series centers on the take-no-prisoners battle between Lord Tony Baddingham (a masterly amoral David Tennant), owner of a regional TV station known as Corinium in the fictional hamlet of Rutshire, and Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell), an ex-Olympian equestrian turned British MP jonesing to undo Tony’s empire. They’re both crazy rich, chronically libidinous, and exquisitely acerbic whenever their paths cross. It’s stiff upper lips meet razor-sharp tongues.

“We really enjoy the scenes we get to have together,” raves Tennant of tangling with his fellow Royal Shakespeare Company pal Hassell. “They keep us apart a lot of the time. We tend to be at opposite ends of the story, so when we get to play opposite each other, it’s quite a treat.”

The feeling is mutual for his on-air enemy. “However prickly or downright aggressive the scenes are, it’s always nothing but a pleasure to go toe-to-toe with someone so skilled,” adds the unrepentantly charismatic Hassell.

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As fans know, Season 1 covered the first half of the late Cooper’s novel, packed with splashy events and lovably flawed characters, including hotheaded Irish journalist and former Corinium star Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner); his daughter Taggie (Bella Maclean), an aspiring chef drawn to the much-older Rupert; Tony’s ambitious American producer and mistress, Cameron Cook (Black Lightning‘s Nafessa Williams); Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer), an electronics mogul in a dying marriage; and a stable of other staffers, paramours, advisers, and offspring. Over eight episodes, infidelities exploded, loyalties shifted, and nearly all of them wound up either on Team Tony or part of Venturer, the Rupert-Declan-Freddie consortium gunning to snatch up Tony’s broadcasting rights. And that was just the beginning.

“Having had such a successful first season, the challenge for us was to deliver even more joy, drama, romance, and intrigue,” says executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Since Cooper’s 38-year-old source material is so well known abroad, that meant making some tweaks to shake up expectations. “We follow the second half of the book broadly [in Season 2],” he continues. “But we were also keen to keep it surprising for people who’d read the book and compelling for people who haven’t.”

“We always had the mantra ‘What Would Jilly Do?’ That gets us everywhere we need to go,” adds his co-EP and show writer Laura Wade, citing a lavish polo match in the first episode of this new season. “That feels very Jilly.”

When we pick up shortly after the 2024 cliffhanger that saw Cameron bashing Tony’s skull with a TV award trophy after he attacked her for falling in love with Rupert, things are as chaotic as ever. Venturer’s bid against Corinium is up in the air and there’s exponentially more yearning between a post-smooch Taggie and Rupert. There’s also the arrival of his ex-wife (Hayley Atwell) and her new husband (Rupert Everett)…who just so happens to be Rupert’s old Olympics mentor.

To make matters messier, a major election is afoot, and a sordid scandal tied to Parliament is brewing.

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'Rivals' Season 2 Trailer: Tony, Rupert & Declan Are Ready for a Fight (VIDEO)

“Everyone should be worried that Tony is going to target them next,” warns Turner, whose fiery (and hot!) journalist emerged as the show’s moral center. “Declan is quite a strong character, so he can deal with him. But I think Tony’s out for blood… Nobody escapes his gaze.”

You’d think all this treachery and debauchery would make for darker days in Rutshire, but Rivals deftly balances its heavier themes with comical elitism and sweetly emotional romance, the latter of which Wade promises will be flowing like the Thames.

“We’re sure that our audience will continue to root for Rupert and Taggie with us,” she predicts. “Though you won’t be surprised to hear that there are plenty more obstacles for them to overcome this season!” Similarly, she hints that another “huge fan-favorite couple” is in for a ride.

Is this heated rivalry between Tony and Rupert about to go from bad blood to spilled blood? According to Tennant, Tony’s need to win “feels a little unhinged,” so anything goes. “It is inconceivable now to him that Rupert can do anything but be crushed under his beautifully crafted brogue.”

Cheerio-no!

Rivals, Season 2 Premiere (three episodes), Friday, May 15 Hulu