‘Rivals’ Greenlit For Season 3 At Disney+

Disney+ is returning for more Rivals.

The streamer’s biggest European original starring David Tennant, Aidan Turner and Danny Dyer, which airs on Hulu in the States, will be back for a 12-episode season after Season 2 dropped to solid ratings and a strong set of reviews.

Disney+ said of Season 3: “As the dust settles post the scandalous revelations in Season Two, 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.”

Disney is demonstrating its commitment to the Jilly Cooper adaptation by greenlighting Season 3 before the second set of Season 2 eps drop. The final six come to the streamer in November, several months after the first six, which Disney+ said have made the show its biggest EMEA original to premiere in the UK and Ireland. Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett joined the cast of Season 2.

Lee Mason, Vice-President, Scripted, Disney+ EMEA, said: “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. We’re delighted to be bringing audiences a third season on Disney+/Hulu. Expect more ambition, more romance, more rivalries and, of course, more scandal as we return to Rutshire for another irresistible chapter.”

Cooper died during filming of Season 2 and the creative team behind Rivals including her agent Felicity Blunt recently told us how the series is “150%” a tribute to the late, great writer.

Season 3 of Rivals, made by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, will be executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins (A Very English Scandal), Alexander Lamb (Ackley Bridge), Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade (The Riot Club) and Blunt. Rivals is based on the novel of the same name, part of Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles. The series was commissioned by Mason.