Rivals (2024) Review: Champagne, Sex and Thatcher-Era TV

Is Rivals worth watching?

Yes. Rivals is a riotously entertaining adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel, a champagne-soaked 1980s soap that knows exactly how silly it is and plays it with total conviction. Its strengths are a starry ensemble, a sharp eye for class snobbery and a villain, in David Tennant’s Lord Tony Baddingham, who is a joy to hate. The reservations are sprawl and length: long episodes and a crowded cast mean some storylines drag, and anyone uneasy with frequent, frank sex scenes should know that is part of the package.

What is Rivals about?

The setting is Rutshire, 1986, a fictional corner of the English Cotswolds where money, horses and adultery are the local pastimes. Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant) runs Corinium, the regional television company, and is determined to keep its broadcasting franchise at any cost. His first move is to poach Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner), a combative Irish chat-show host with a principled streak, who arrives in Rutshire with his glamorous wife Maud (Victoria Smurfit) and their daughter Taggie (Bella Maclean).

Declan’s arrival sets off a feud that draws in the neighbours, above all Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell), a Conservative MP, Olympic show-jumper and incorrigible seducer, and Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams), a ruthless American producer brought in to shake up Corinium. Katherine Parkinson, Emily Atack, Danny Dyer and Oliver Chris round out a large ensemble of spouses, lovers and schemers.

Rivals was adapted for television by Dominic Treadwell-Collins. It is a British series in English, streaming on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ elsewhere. This review covers the first two seasons, 20 episodes in all; the series is ongoing.

Tennant and a cast having the time of their lives

David Tennant gives Tony Baddingham a coiled, petty menace that makes him the perfect villain for this world: a man with power, money and a title who is still consumed by envy of those with more charm. He is funny and genuinely unpleasant in equal measure, and every scene improves when he enters.

Alex Hassell has the difficult task of making Rupert Campbell-Black, Cooper’s most famous rake, both appalling and appealing, and he largely succeeds. Aidan Turner brings rumpled integrity to Declan, while Katherine Parkinson is a highlight as a neglected wife whose comic timing hides real hurt. Danny Dyer, as a self-made millionaire looked down on by the county set, gives the class comedy a warm, sympathetic face.

A bonkbuster played straight, and for laughs

Treadwell-Collins, a veteran of British soap, understands that the key to Cooper’s world is tone. Rivals is bawdy, sexually frank and frequently ridiculous, but it treats its characters’ ambitions and heartbreaks seriously enough that the drama lands. The show is especially sharp on class: old money, new money and media money circle each other with mutual contempt, and the 1980s backdrop of Thatcherite ambition gives the snobbery a satirical edge.

The period recreation is gloriously excessive, from shoulder pads and power suits to country-house parties and a soundtrack of era hits. The show’s approach to sex is notably playful and often told from the women’s point of view, giving the famously racy source a more modern sensibility without sanding off its fun.

When the party runs long

For all its energy, the series is overstuffed. Episodes often run close to an hour, and with so many couples and subplots, some threads drift for long stretches while others resolve too neatly. The franchise battle at the heart of the story can feel like background to the romantic intrigue, and viewers who come for the business rivalry may wish it had more bite. A tighter edit would sharpen every season.

Who should watch Rivals?

It is ideal for fans of period romance and comedy-drama, admirers of Jilly Cooper, and anyone who wants glossy, witty escapism with an edge. Expect frequent sex scenes, nudity, strong language and drug use; it is strictly adult viewing. Twenty long episodes make it a sizeable but breezy binge.

If you enjoy it, try:

• Fleabag for British comedy that is just as frank about sex, with a sharper emotional sting.
• Derry Girls for British period comedy with a political backdrop and a big-hearted ensemble.

The verdict

Rivals is a sumptuous, knowing and very funny adaptation that turns Jilly Cooper’s world of affairs and ambition into irresistible escapist television. It sprawls and overstays in places, but with David Tennant’s villainy and a cast clearly relishing the material, it is a party worth joining.

Rating: 4/5