Disney has released some first-look images of the upcoming British original eight-part series, “Rivals”, which is  based on the celebrated novel by Dame Jilly Cooper and is set against the backdrop of the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England, “Rivals” delves headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986.

The series stars Alex Hassell (‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’, ‘The Boys’), David Tennant (‘Doctor Who’, ‘Good Omens’), Aidan Turner (‘Poldark’, ‘The Suspect’) ,  Nafessa Williams (‘Black Lighting’, ‘Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody’), Katherine Parkinson (‘Humans’, ‘Here We Go’) and Bella Maclean (‘Spring Awakening’, ‘Sex Education’).

The new images showcase six of the iconic characters from the drama, which you can see below:

The series also stars Emily Atack, Catriona Chandler, Oliver Chris, Danny Dyer, Rufus Jones, Lisa McGrillis, Luke Pasqualino, Claire Rushbrook, and Victoria Smurfit.

“Rivals” is executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins (‘A Very English Scandal’, ‘Holding’, ‘EastEnders’), Alexander Lamb (‘Ackley Bridge’, ‘The Bay’, ‘We Hunt Together’), Felicity Blunt, Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade (‘The Riot Club’), “Rivals” author Dame Jilly Cooper and Director of Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA Lee Mason. “Rivals” is produced by Happy Prince, which is part of ITV Studios. 

The show’s lead director is BAFTA-nominated Elliot Hegarty (‘Ted Lasso, Cheaters’, ‘Trying’), who also serves as executive producer on episodes 1-4. Eliza Mellor (‘The Midwich Cuckoos’, ‘Behind Her Eyes’, ‘Poldark’) serves as Series Producer. Dee Koppang O’Leary (“The Crown”) and Alexandra Brodski (“Somewhere Boy”) also direct episodes.

“Rivals” will be released later this year on Disney+ around the world and as a Hulu Original on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+ in the United States.

Roger’s POV: This series is going to be interesting to watch. Dame Jilly Cooper’s novels are known for being a little “spicy,” and this is a very different type of show for Disney+. As an 80s kid, I’m certainly interested to see where this show goes, and anything with David Tennant in it is a must-watch for me, plus the more British originals on Disney+ the better.

Are you looking forward to watching “Rivals”? Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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