Rivals Season Two Expands to 12 Episodes as Disney+ Sets May Return

The Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper's 'Rivals' will return for a second season on 15 May with an expanded run of 12 episodes, up from eight in its acclaimed debut, and the cast promises the new instalment will raise the dramatic stakes considerably.

The Details

BBC Entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson visited the production at Chavenage House in Gloucestershire, where the crew was filming a bonfire scene for the upcoming second season. The set visit offered a first look at a production that has scaled up in both ambition and scope since its initial run. The bonfire scene Paterson observed was being filmed as part of the extended production schedule that the larger episode order required.

The most immediately visible change in season two is the episode count. The first season of the adaptation was structured across eight episodes. The second season will now run to 12 episodes, giving the series more room to unfold the tangled rivalries and romantic entanglements that defined Jilly Cooper's original work.

Victoria Smurfit, who returns for the new season, captured the production's increased scale in a direct assessment offered during the set visit. Speaking to the BBC, she described the coming season in three words: "It's bigger, bolder... Bonkier!"

David Tennant's Lord Tony Baddingham will also return, and Tennant himself indicated the character has moved into darker territory. During the set visit, Tennant said he had initially thought his character's conduct in the first season was extreme. He then offered a preview of what audiences could expect when the series resumes. "I thought he was quite badly behaved in series one, but I do terrible things in series two. I mean really despicable," Tennant told the BBC.

Danny Dyer is back in the role of Freddie Jones, a part that requires him to wear a distinctive moustache. Dyer noted that the lengthy production schedule for the expanded season meant he has spent an extended stretch of time in full costume and character look. He told the BBC that the transformation has become familiar enough that his own grandchildren now associate him primarily with the on-screen appearance. "My grandchildren only know me as a moustached man, and that depresses me slightly," Dyer said during the set visit.

The series will be available to stream on Disney+ beginning Friday 15 May.

Context

'Rivals' is a television adaptation of Jilly Cooper's 1988 novel, which sits within the broader body of her Rutshire Chronicles. The creative team behind the adaptation translated Cooper's work into a serialized hit for Disney+, and the first season achieved enough commercial and critical success to secure a renewal and an expanded episode order.

That success was formally recognised in 2025 when the first season won the International Emmy Award for best drama. The accolade came as the production was already preparing its second series, tying the awards recognition directly into the momentum that carried the show forward into its expanded return. The International Emmy win for best drama emerged from a ceremony where UK productions dominated, underscoring the industry confidence behind the show's continuation.

Jilly Cooper herself was involved in the second season at a granular level. According to the BBC set report, Cooper reviewed and signed off on every episode of season two before her death in 2025. That personal approval process represented her final direct engagement with the adaptation of the novels that formed a central element of her career as a writer.

The decision to increase the episode count from eight to 12 indicates a higher level of investment from the commissioning platform and a belief that the audience appetite established in season one warranted more screen time for the Rutshire characters.

What's Next

With the 12-episode season set to begin streaming on Disney+ from 15 May, viewers will soon be able to evaluate whether the expanded format and returning cast have delivered on the production's stated ambitions. The increased episode count gives the series more space to develop the narrative threads established in Cooper's original novel, while Tennant's comments about his character's arc suggest the dramatic temperature will be notably higher than in the first season.

The show's continued presence on Disney+ will also test whether the Emmy-winning first season laid sufficient groundwork to sustain audience engagement across a longer run. For Cooper's existing readership, the second season carries the additional layer of being the last she reviewed in full before her death.