Rivals

Dominic Treadwell-Collins's adaptation of Jilly Cooper's 1988 novel premiered on Disney+ and Hulu on 18 October 2024, becoming one of the most talked-about British series of the year. Produced by Happy Prince for ITV Studios, the eight-episode series had been in development for several years, with Treadwell-Collins — best known as executive producer of EastEnders and creator of The A Word — assembling a writers' room to translate Cooper's sprawling, gleefully transgressive 1980s satire for a contemporary streaming audience.

Alex Hassell plays Rupert Campbell-Black, the amoral Tory grandee and former Olympic showjumper around whom Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles revolve. David Tennant is cast against type as Tony, Lord Baddingham, with Aidan Turner as the Irish television presenter Declan O'Hara and Katherine Parkinson and Nafessa Williams rounding out an ensemble playing characters whose desires for money, power, and one another become progressively entangled as the television franchise war escalates. The production design and costuming are meticulous recreations of 1986 upper-class England, and directors Elliot Hegarty and Dee Koppang O'Leary sustain the novel's tone — knowing, carnivorous, and shot through with comedy — across all eight episodes.

The series achieved a 95% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won the International Emmy for Best Drama Series in 2025, alongside two BAFTA craft awards. A second series was commissioned in December 2024. Critics praised Tennant's transformation into the villain of the piece and the show's willingness to embrace Cooper's maximalist sensibility rather than sand it down.