New on Disney+: David Tennant’s Doctor Who becomes a ruthless businessman in this series that reeks of the ’80s.

A brand new series is coming to Disney+ and Doctor Who fans will be surprised to see David Tennant in a completely different role.

Rivals stars the Scottish actor as Lord Tony Benningham, a television tycoon in the late 80s who sees his empire threatened by Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell), a former Olympic champion and seductive temptress.

Known to the general public for his sunny and bright interpretation of Doctor Who, David Tennant is also used to playing villainous roles. We especially remember his interpretation of Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as well as his role as Kilgrave in the Marvel series Jessica Jones.

Alex Hassell, who plays his rival in the series, was notably directed by Joel Coen in his adaptation of Macbeth. However, more active on television than in film, he notably played the big bad in the TV series Vicious live action Cowboy Bebop, like Metatron in his third season of Dark Materials: Crossroads of Worlds.

A series that takes us back to the eighties

A series set in the ruthless world of business, Rivals also takes us back to the madness of the 80s thanks to a pop and retro soundtrack composed of the biggest hits of the era.

The program is adapted from the author Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name and is the second part of her literary cycle, which takes place in the fictional county of Rathshire.

Originally, the adaptation was supposed to move the novel’s plot to the present day. But in the end it was decided to stay true to the story of the book, setting the action in the late 80s.

An obviously profitable choice, offering the series an opportunity to draw inspiration from the 80s aesthetic, the over-the-top and larger than life Which is more relevant to this decade than our time.

The show’s cast includes famous faces from British TV, including Bella McLean (Sex Education), Catherine Parkinson (IT Crowd) and Aidan Turner (Poldark).

The series was created by the tandem of Dominic Treadwell-Collins (A Very English Scandal) and Laura Wade (The Riot Club) and produced for Happy Prince, a subsidiary of the ITV Studios group.

All eight episodes of the Rivals miniseries are now available exclusively on Disney+.

Discover the list of series currently available on the platform!