Rivals
Rivals
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Rivals

7.5
Yr 2024
Status Returning Series
Drama
Your Verdict

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Series Brief

Overview

It is 1986 and Britain is booming. "Rivals" dives headfirst into the cutthroat world of TV where hair-dos are big and ambitions are even bigger. Deals are brokered in boardrooms, as well as bedrooms. Nobody can be sure who will come out on top. With every man and woman out only for themselves, can true love really blossom?

Critical Reception

What critics are saying

Score 85 /100

Critics widely embraced Rivals as an outrageously fun, sexy, and unapologetically soapy drama set against the backdrop of 1980s British television. Reviewers praised its high-energy hedonism, glamour, and confident self-awareness, frequently comparing its delicious nighttime-soap craziness to classic series like Dynasty and Falcon Crest updated with modern sensibilities.

Performances across the ensemble—especially a maniacal turn by David Tennant—were highlighted as major selling points. Many critics noted that while the show introduces a cast of thoroughly unlikable and pretentious figures, it effectively peels back their layers over time, creating a binge-worthy experience driven by explosive character drama and sharp humor.

Minor criticisms centered on the show's balance of sex and plot. A few reviewers felt that the heavy emphasis on romantic liaisons occasionally overshadowed the intriguing professional rivalries, leaving some storylines feeling light on substance. However, most consensus points to the show succeeding precisely because it embraces its raunchy, excessive, and wildly entertaining nature.

“A supremely confident, endlessly enjoyable time capsule”

“The series reminds us how fun TV can actually be – it’s glamorous, lively and light-hearted while also being terribly (read: joyously) soapy in all the right places.”

“Brims with absurd excess, but is deeply serious about pleasure.”

“Combines Dynasty, Falcon Crest, and Eastenders with nuanced twenty-first-century writing, acting, and sensibilities”

Transmission Paths

Where to Watch

Disney Plus
US • CA • UK
Hulu
US
Why fans love it

The 1986 setting of Rivals provides more than just a backdrop of tall hair and stiff competition. The series captures a specific era of television where the stakes in the boardroom are matched only by the chaos of personal lives. Unlike typical dramas that settle for high-stress maneuvers, this take on the material remains consistently cheerful even as characters fight for control of the industry.

The narrative tone leans into an amused perspective on the excesses of the decade. David Tennant anchors a cast where everyone serves their own agenda, creating a landscape where alliances shift between meetings and bedrooms. It treats the pursuit of success as a theatrical game, making the question of whether romance can survive in such a cutthroat professional climate the central tension of the story.

Featured Players

Cast

Credited 75
Regulars 38
Longest run 14 eps
David Tennant
David Tennant
as Tony Baddingham
14 episodes
Aidan Turner
Aidan Turner
as Declan O'Hara
14 episodes
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer
as Freddie Jones
14 episodes
Alex Hassell
Alex Hassell
as Rupert Campbell-Black
14 episodes
Nafessa Williams
Nafessa Williams
as Cameron Cook
14 episodes
Bella Maclean
Bella Maclean
as Taggie O'Hara
14 episodes
Katherine Parkinson
Katherine Parkinson
as Lizzie Vereker
14 episodes
Victoria Smurfit
Victoria Smurfit
as Maud O'Hara
14 episodes
Show 67 more
Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham 14 episodes Oliver Chris as James Vereker 14 episodes Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones 14 episodes Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton 14 episodes Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton 14 episodes Luke Pasqualino as Basil 'Bas' Baddingham 14 episodes Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O'Hara 14 episodes Bryony Hannah as Deirdre Kilpatrick 14 episodes Milo Callaghan as Seb Burrows 8 episodes Lara Peake as Daysee Butler 14 episodes Wendy Albiston as Mrs. Makepiece 14 episodes Gary Shelford as Mr. Makepiece 9 episodes Alfie Kiely as Sebastian Vereker 8 episodes Antony Byrne as Ginger Baines 14 episodes Hubert Burton as Gerald Middleton 14 episodes Gary Lamont as Charles Fairburn 14 episodes Gabriel Tierney as Patrick O’Hara 9 episodes Nino Furuhata as Toshi Yamazaki 6 episodes Louis Landau as Archie Baddingham 10 episodes Nisha Aaliya as Farah - Stewardess 1 episode Denise Black as Joyce Madden 10 episodes Jamie Chapman as Alistair - BBC Producer 1 episode Nick Pritchard as Singer 3 episodes Annabel Scholey as Beattie Johnson 5 episodes Emma Shipp as Shelley Makepiece 11 episodes Maggie Steed as Lady Gwendolyn Gosling 6 episodes Dan Tetsell as Steve Meadows 12 episodes Nicholas Page Hayman as Ivor Hicks 4 episodes Ryan Baker as Wayne Jones 8 episodes David Calder as Rev. Fergus Penney 6 episodes Rich Keeble as Brian Hetherington 10 episodes Georgia Mack as Sharon Jones 9 episodes Adam Rothenberg as Johnny Friedlander 1 episode Jamie Bisping as Kevin Makepiece 9 episodes Kate Cresswell as Georgina Harrison 1 episode Charlie de Melo as Malhar Verma 3 episodes Anastasia Griffith as Helen Gordon 2 episodes Hamish Lloyd Barne as Ralphie Henriques 1 episode Charlotte Mangel as Nathalie Perrault 4 episodes Alan Mehdizadeh as Gary - Paparazzo 1 episode John Sandeman as Paramedic 1 episode Benjamin Black as Warm-Up Guy 2 episodes Casey Lloyd as Postman 1 episode Brendan Patricks as Henry Hampshire 8 episodes Olivia Poulet as Hermione Hampshire 8 episodes Neil Dodgson-Hatto as Partygoer 1 episode Timothy Blore as Dishy Daniel 7 episodes Selina Griffiths as Dame Enid Spink 8 episodes Gilbert Kyem Jnr as Wesley Emerson 7 episodes Katie Eldred as Amanda Butler 2 episodes Guy Siner as Bishop Hubert Brenton 6 episodes Maxim Ays as Sebbie Carlisle 3 episodes Amelie Child-Villiers as Beatrice Baddingham 4 episodes Oliver Dench as Hugo K. Bruce 3 episodes Bobby Lockwood as Dommie Carlisle 3 episodes Eliot Salt as Caroline ‘Muffy’ Hampshire 5 episodes Jonny Weldon as Mike Maples 4 episodes Olive Tennant as Camilla Baddingham 2 episodes Hayley Atwell as Helen Gordon 4 episodes Rupert Everett as Malise Gordon 2 episodes Holly Cattle as Stick Chick 2 episodes Charlotte Rice-Foley as Tabitha Campbell-Black 2 episodes Leo Weston as Marcus Campbell-Black 2 episodes Sebastian Clear as Sebastian Vereker 3 episodes Hebe Clear as Ellie Vereker 3 episodes Amanda Lawrence as Sally Menzies-Scott 2 episodes Kate Robbins as Patricia Banks 2 episodes
Signal Match

Similarity

Where Rivals overlaps with other shows, and exactly what they have in common.

Keyword Cloud

Keywords

rivalry television producer polo member of parliament thatcherism lighthearted romantic based on novel or book 1980s television dramatic cheerful
Technical Sheet

Details

First Aired
October 18, 2024
Status
Returning Series
Origin
GB
TMDB Votes
90