Disney+ drama Rivals will return for the final six episodes of series two on November 11, a new trailer has confirmed.
The new teaser for episodes seven to 12 picks up immediately after the mid-series finale, which concluded with the tragic death of Lady Monica Baddingham, played by Claire Rushbrook. The remaining six episodes of the 12-part second season will see the residents of the fictional English county of Rutshire navigate a scandalous 1987 party season.
Despite the sudden loss of his wife, television executive Lord Tony Baddingham, played by Scottish actor David Tennant, is shown to be far from a grieving widower. Instead, the furious TV boss is seen holding a shotgun as he ramps up his bitter franchise war against rival broadcaster Declan O'Hara, portrayed by Irish actor Aidan Turner.
In one tense exchange from the trailer, playboy Rupert Campbell-Black, played by Alex Hassell, confronts the mourning executive about his late wife's passing. "Your wife died in my arms, broken by your games," Rupert tells him. Lord Tony coldly responds while brandishing his firearm: "well she's not here anymore. I've got nothing left to do but fight."
Meanwhile, Maud O'Hara, played by Victoria Smurfit, questions whether Lady Monica's death is "all our fault." Despite her guilt, Maud's fiery affair with her husband's arch-nemesis Tony Baddingham shows no sign of stopping as tensions escalate across Rutshire.
Scandals and romance in Rutshire
Elsewhere in the rural community, self-made electronics millionaire Freddie Jones, played by former EastEnders star Danny Dyer, continues to navigate his complicated personal life. The trailer reveals that Freddie is still balancing his ongoing affair with romantic novelist Lizzie Vereker, played by Katherine Parkinson, alongside his marriage to wife Valerie, played by Lisa McGrillis.
Not all relationships in Rutshire are fraught with conflict. The television series' slowest-burning romance between Declan's daughter Taggie O'Hara, played by Bella Maclean, and former Olympic showjumper Rupert Campbell-Black teases a potential happy ending, with the trailer concluding as the pair lean in for a firework night kiss.
However, Rupert faces fresh competition for Taggie's affections in the upcoming episodes. Actor Luke Pasqualino, known for his roles in Skins and Our Girl, joins the cast as Basill, a new arrival who competes for Taggie's romantic attention.
Emily Atack also returns as Sarah Stratton as the second series continues on Disney+. All of these romantic entanglements and rivalries unfold against the backdrop of the 1987 social calendar, featuring glimpses of Bonfire Night chaos, the high-society Hampshire Hunt Ball, and a turbulent Christmas celebration.
New cast members join second series
The upcoming return introduces several new high-profile cast members to the ensemble. Rachael Stirling joins the series as Araminta Pemberton, described as the vampish younger sister of the late Lady Monica Baddingham.
Actor Rupert Evans enters the drama as David Hawkley, an erudite headmaster, while Chilean actor Santiago Cabrera joins the cast as Argentinian polo legend Alejandro Mendoza.
Fans will receive the first three of the six remaining episodes on November 11 when they drop simultaneously on Disney+. The remaining three episodes will then be released on a weekly schedule following the initial premiere.
Viewer reaction and production history
The return comes after viewers experienced a frustrating wait following a major cliffhanger in the midseason finale. Set against severe hurricane weather, the central storyline surrounding Tony's affair with Maud, the wife of his nemesis Declan, came to a head just as Lady Monica planned to leave her philandering husband before her unexpected death.
The gap between episode releases sparked considerable discussion among fans on social media. "Rivals release schedule is terrible. they're gonna kill the momentum of the show and I doubt they will do a lot of promo during the break," wrote one viewer.
Another fan expressed frustration at the split release schedule, commenting: "I would rather wait for a late summer release instead of waiting for 6 months between the two parts."
However, other viewers defended the decision to divide the season into two installments. "My unpopular opinion is that people are massively overreacting about the rivals season split. wdym people won't care? it ended on a cliffhanger last time and we were gagging for s2. 12 episodes is a lot for a british show - it's like getting two seasons in a year!" stated one fan online.
Ahead of the midseason break, television critics widely praised the second series, awarding a string of five-star reviews and declaring that the new batch of episodes lived up to its opening run.
Based on Dame Jilly Cooper's 1988 bestselling novel of the same name, part of her iconic Rutshire Chronicles book series, the comedy-drama series debuted on Disney+ in October 2024 and quickly established itself as a major hit. The eight-episode first series concluded in October 2024 before being renewed for a 12-episode second season split across the two parts.
