Disney+ has renewed Rivals for a third season. The hit drama, based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s beloved Rutshire Chronicles novels, will return for another 12 episodes following the success of its second season. The renewal comes ahead of the second batch of Season 2 episodes, due this November.
Produced by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, Rivals has become one of Disney+’s biggest UK drama success stories. The series features a starry ensemble cast including David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson and Danny Dyer, while Disney+ says the first part of Season 2 became its biggest-ever EMEA original premiere in the UK and Ireland.
“As the dust settles post the scandalous revelations in Season 2, we see the stakes become higher and the alliances more fragile, with nothing staying buried for long. New romances blossom, old flames rekindle and shocking secrets will be spilled in this third series which takes everyone’s favourite rivalries to the next level. In a world of power, passion and betrayal, everyone has something to lose.”
rivals SEASON 3 SYNOPSIS
The series has earned a devoted audience thanks to its mix of romance, scandal, ambition and larger-than-life characters, bringing Cooper’s bestselling novels to a new generation of viewers.
Lee Mason, Vice-President of Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA, praised the show’s continued success. “The phenomenal response to Rivals is a credit to the bold, irreverent and endlessly entertaining world created by Dame Jilly Cooper, our cast, creative team and production partners at Happy Prince,” he said. “We’re delighted to be bringing audiences a third season on Disney+. Expect more ambition, more romance, more rivalries and, of course, more scandal as we return to Rutshire for another irresistible chapter.”
Happy Prince executives Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Alexander Lamb also thanked audiences for embracing the series, while paying tribute to Cooper following her death earlier this year. “Our one sadness is that Jilly didn’t get to witness the love for Season 2. But she’s still very much with us in spirit and would be so delighted that Season 3 has been greenlit,” they said.
Fans will not have to wait until Season 3 for more drama. The second batch of six episodes from Season 2 is set to arrive this November on Disney+ in the UK and internationally, and on Hulu in the United States.
For CultureCues, this is very welcome news. Rivals is a genuinely entertaining show with a terrific cast and confident writing. We cannot wait for the rest of Season 2 in November, so knowing Season 3 is already confirmed makes the return to Rutshire even better.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.