The first review is the second series of Rivals, which our reviewers loved when it first landed in 2024. It’s the series based on Jilly Cooper’s novels, which is ostensibly about two rival TV companies in the Cotswolds, but if you’ve seen any of it you’ll know it’s a lot more than that…
There was one sex scene that made me laugh so hard”
Scott and Hayley both think the second series of Rivals is a Must Watch.
Scott says, “I think this show goes from strength to strength. It really does not let up.”
“Sometimes I got more fascinated by the TV franchise auction part of the programme, but then I was thinking to myself, is that just my autism?”
He describes the acting as “superb” and the show as “a little bit silly, incredibly 80s, and not taking itself too seriously.”
“My only criticism is that there’s quite a few characters and it can be quite knotty, sometimes it feels like 11 competing storylines.”
Hayley says, “Of course this is a Must Watch!”
“I had a snobby idea of what a Jilly Cooper novel was and then I ended up bingeing all of the [first season] in one go.”
She says the show is about “class, petty human jealousy, sex, and love”.
“I was watching it at the screening in Soho and there was one sex scene with Declan O’Hara, played by Aidan Turner, that made me laugh so hard that my friend sitting next to me leaned over and asked if I was OK.”
Hayley adds that the new season introduces new characters but that “they’ve all had Jilly Cooper’s sign off because she died while they were about halfway through shooting the season. They’re very Jilly Cooper world characters”.
The first four episodes of the second series of Rivals will be available to watch on Disney+ on Friday 15th May. You can currently watch series one now.
