Rivals (Season 2)

With its second season, Rivals returns to Disney+ confirming itself as one of the most scandalous and beloved television bonkbusters of the moment. Created by Dominic Treadwell-Collins alongside playwright Laura Wade, who adapts Dame Jilly Cooper's novel from her bestselling Rutshire Chronicles saga, the series follows the battle for control of regional broadcaster Corinium, set in 1980s rural England. David Tennant returns as the scheming media mogul Tony Baddingham, joined by Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Nafessa Williams and Bella Maclean, with Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett joining the cast this season.

The twelve episodes, released in two batches starting May 15, push the rivalry between Corinium and upstart Venturer to even fiercer extremes, as blackmail, betrayal and ruthless manipulation intertwine with the characters' increasingly reckless love lives. Season one earned a striking 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, praised as a caustic comedy about class and ambition, and Disney+ promoted the season's return with a trailer officially billed as steamy, a sign of how central the erotic component remains to the show's identity. Set against the hedonistic excess of the 1980s, the series makes no secret of being a bonkbuster in the classic sense of the term, weaving power, sex, betrayal and professional rivalry into a sprawling ensemble story that alternates moments of real sensuality with razor-sharp humor.

It is unapologetically adult, playful entertainment, openly rooted in Cooper's bonkbuster literary tradition, balancing British wit with an explicit celebration of desire without ever tipping into gratuitous vulgarity.