| Screenplay: |
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| Director: | Elliot Hegarty |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 8 |
| Producer: | Eliza Mellor |
| Company: | Happy Prince |
| Network: | Disney+ |
Rivals is an upcoming television series made for Disney+. It is an adaptation of the 1988 Jilly Cooper novel of the same name. It is set to star an ensemble cast including David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Lisa McGrillis, Alex Hassell, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer.
Set in the fictional English county of Rutshire, Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell) and Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant) have a rivalry that seeps into the world of Corinium television station.[1]
In August 2022 it was reported that Disney+ were planning an eight-part adaptation of the Jilly Cooper novel Rivals.[2] Dominic Treadwell-Collins is on the writing and production team, whilst Jilly Cooper and Felicity Blunt, Cooper’s literary agent, are serving as executive producers on the show.[3] [4] It has been reported that the 1980s novel would be given a “contemporary skew”.[5]
The lead director is Elliot Hegarty who is also credited as executive producer on episodes 1-3. Eliza Mellor is series producer. The project is produced by Happy Prince with Alexander Lamb, Laura Wade, and Lee Mason also executive producers. Wade is also co-writer with Treadwell-Collins and a writers room that includes Sophie Goodhart, Marek Horn, Mimi Hare & Clare Naylor, Dare Aiyegbayo, Kefi Chadwick, Tray Agyeman, and Sorcha Kurien Walsh.[6]
Casting in lead roles were announced in March 2023, with David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson & Alex Hassell amongst those cast.[7] That same month, Victoria Smurfit and Aidan Turner were added to the cast.[8] In May 2023, the cast was rounded out with the likes of Lara Peake and David Calder revealed to be in the cast.[9]
The series became the first production to use ‘TBY2’, a new facility at The Bottle Yard Studios in Hengrove, Bristol.[10] Filming also took place in Gloucestershire in March 2023.[11]
The series is expected to be released in the UK and internationally on Disney+ and in the United States on Hulu on the 18th of October 2024.[12]