Is there going to be a season 2 of Rivals?
What did you do this weekend? Well, we binge-watched the entire first season of Disney+'s Rivals and now we're desperate to know if a second season is happening.
The eight-part series dropped on Disney+ on 18th October, starring an iconic cast of David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Alex Hassell and Bella Maclean in an adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel of the same name. Set in the mid 1980s, the series follows Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) and his arch-nemesis Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) for control of the TV station in the Cotswolds.
It's sexy, dramatic, and full of questionable 80s looks, and with several cliff hangers and loose ends to be tied up, we're dying to know if we're going to see the county of Rutshire again. So here's everything you need to know about a potential second season of Rivals.
Has Rivals been confirmed for a second season?
As of yet there's been no official word from Disney+ the show will be making a return. However, as with many streaming platforms the decision to renew or cancel a series is often announced a good few weeks after the show is released so we may have to wait some time to find out the series' fate.
The good news is however, the cast seem keen to return, with Danny Dyer, who plays Freddie Jones, telling Radio Times he might be too busy to go back to Eastenders due to filming another season of Rivals, "We might be busy on the second series of Rivals so you know, Walford or Rivals – maybe I can do both."
And Victoria Smurfit, who plays Maud O'Hara, also suggested she would be keen to return, telling Radio Times: "I’d want a season 3 and 4. You’ve got so many glorious characters to follow."
The series is based on the second book of Jilly Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles, which has 11 books in total, and so there is plenty of opportunity to expand the series more.
What would happen in Rivals season 2?
Well this all depends if the series would want to follow the characters from Rivals, or divert and adapt the third book in the Rutshire Chronicles, Polo!
If season two were to follow the events of season one, we'd expect to get answers to if Tony Baddingham is actually alive following Cameron hitting him over the head. If he does live then it would be a case of seeing if his marriage with Lady Monica would survive and what he's going to do with himself now that he's lost the bid for the IBA.
There's also Sarah Stratton's pregnancy revelation, and the question of who the father is, her husband Paul or co-host James? We'd definitely be needing an answer to that. We'd also want to see a continuation of Freddie and Lizzie's affair, and of course the fall out of Maud leaving the family home to go back to acting in London.
One of the biggest cliff-hangers we'd also want answering is what happens with Taggie and Rupert. Spoiler alert: In the book the pair end up together and are then featured as a couple throughout the rest of the Rutshire Chronicles.
If the series were to follow the plot of third Rutshire Chronicles book Polo! instead, then the season would focus on the relationship between polo player Ricky France-Lynch and Perdita MacLeod, who is obsessed with both Ricky and becoming a top performing polo player.
Who could return for Rivals season 2?
This all depends on what route for the plot the creators of Rivals go down, however as Rupert and Taggie appear in the future novels, the two people we would definitely expect to return for a second season are Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black and Bella Maclean as Taggie O'Hara.
There would be question marks over David Tennant's return as Lord Tony Baddingham, as the last time we saw him he was hit over the head by Cameron, so it's still TBC if his character survives.
As for the rest of the cast, it depends on the plot of the series, but we'd really hope to see the following cast return:
Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook
Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara
Maud Smurfit as Maud O'Hara
Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O'Hara
Gabriel Tierney as Patrick O'Hara
Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham
Luke Pasqualino as Basil 'Bas' Baddingham
Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker
Oliver Chris as James Vereker
Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones
Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones
Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton
Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton
Gary Lamont as Charles Fairburn
Hubert Burton as Gerald Middleton
Lara Peake as Daysee Butler
Annabel Scholey as Beattie Johnson
Ok, we're really crossing our fingers we get to see this cast return for a season two of Rivals.
Rivals is available on Disney+ now
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