# Rivals (2024)

> In 1986 Britain, rival television executives and their partners scheme for power and love in a glamorous, cutthroat media world.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/130795

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 55 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: drama, romance
- Network: Disney+
- Cast: David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21906238/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: cheerful, lighthearted, glossy, romantic, cutthroat, dramatic

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, enjoying its glossy 1980s period recreation and its blend of backstabbing business rivalry and romance.

## Synopsis

Rivals (2024-present) is a British television drama created for Disney+ that adapts a novel by Jilly Cooper and plunges into the cutthroat world of 1980s television. Set in a booming 1986 Britain of big hair and bigger ambitions, the series follows a rivalry between ambitious figures in the media industry, with David Tennant as Tony Baddingham and Aidan Turner as Declan O'Hara at its center, alongside Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones, Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black, and Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook. Its engine is the constant jockeying for control of a television company, where deals are struck in boardrooms and in bedrooms, and every character seems out only for themselves. Season one ran eight episodes and season two twelve, with the story told as one continuing serialized arc across the two seasons. Shot with a glossy, lavish polish, the series balances sharp, lighthearted wit with romantic yearning and a cheerful, sometimes cynical edge. Its ambition-fuelled tone and crowded ensemble of rivals and lovers make it a natural fit for fans of Dallas, Mad Men and Bridgerton, who enjoy period escapism, scheming power players and romance that refuses to stay simple.

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