Guilty pleasures are one thing, but utterly delicious bits of television are something else entirely. Season 2 of Hulu’s “Rivals,” the 1980s-set dark comedy adapted from Jilly Cooper’s “Rutshire Chronicles” novels, is exactly that. The series, which is set in the fictional county of Rutshire, England, follows an intense rivalry. Legendary television executive Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), the managing director of Corinium, is on a rampage. His former show host Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner) has teamed up with retired Olympian turned politician and notorious rake Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) for their own television enterprise. While Season 1 was a delightful entry into this over-the-top world of the British elite, Season 2 has taken things up a notch with a tonally perfect and exceptional continuation of a truly scandalous series.
Season 2 (critics received five of the six episodes for review, with the remaining six episodes debuting later this year) picks up where Season 1 left off. Rupert, Declan and self-made tech billionaire Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer) have teamed up to form their own network, Venturer, as a direct challenge to Tony’s Corinium for Rutshire’s television franchise. However, things are already off to a rocky start. Rupert has fled town with Tony’s wonderkid American producer Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams), who bashed her boss and long-time lover across the head after he attacked her for getting close to Rupert. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on whose asking), Tony is very much alive. Knowing Tony’s menacing possessiveness over Cameron, and his ruthlessness, neither she nor anyone else associated with Venturer can even begin to conceive of the type of revenge he’s willing to unleash to ensure Corinium’s unblemished legacy.
However, the conflict between Corinium and Venturer is only the tip of the iceberg here. There’s a lot happening in Rutshire. Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack) has found success sharing the stage with the self-obsessed James Vereker (Oliver Chris). Unfortunately, an unplanned pregnancy might end her career and her marriage. James’ novelist wife, Lizzie (Katherine Parkinson), is still daydreaming about Freddie. Declan’s actress wife, Maud (Victoria Smurfit), feels desperately lonely and cast aside, and longs to return to London. Meanwhile, their daughter Taggie (Bella Maclean) is reeling from the secret kiss she and Rupert shared. She can’t quite reconcile that he’s skipped town with Cameron.
Episode 2 is particularly fun. At her politician husband’s request, Sarah throws a dinner party, but she secretly hires Taggie to do all the cooking. What ensues is a beautifully timed comedic sequence of revelations which occur over an over-salted beef dish, pantry hideouts and more than a few awkward moments.
To say there is a lot going on here would be an understatement. Yet, “Rivals” manages to be a grandiose display of brilliant soapy drama. The intelligence and business espionage, the illicit sex scenes, the love triangles and the jaw-dropping twists are one thing, but the acting and these intricately detailed characters are what make the series so juicy. The entire cast is brilliant. Yet, Maclean’s Taggie, Gart Lamont’s Charles Fairburn and Claire Rushbrook’s turn as Tony’s wife, Lady Monica Baddingham, specifically, are quieter, deeply moving characters. Yet the show’s big bads are scrumptiously diabolical.
Rupert and Declan are cads cut from different cloths, but Williams’ Cameron and Tenant’s Tony are vindictive, mean and cutthroat. And yet, they are both so beautifully human. Tony and Cameron are recklessly ruthless and so fun to watch. The push-pull of their relationship and the ways they show up outside of this dynamic are deeply intriguing.
“Rivals” is truly an immersive viewing experience in a way TV so rarely is these days. From the music, which boasts tunes like Sade’s “Your Love Is King” to David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” to the tacky but sometimes perfect fashion, the series walks just on the edge of satire in a world where aristocracy and the grit and outlandish glam of the 1980s press against each other. Though this is only the first half of Season 2, it’s clear “Rivals” is just warming up.
The first three episodes of “Rivals” Season 2 debut May 15 on Hulu, with the remaining episodes airing weekly in pairs on Fridays. The rest of the season will debut later this year.
Leave a Reply