Rivals
Cast & Key People
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Our Review
Cast & Key People
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Our Review
Rivals (2024) is a drama and comedy series from Disney+. It has built a run of 14 episodes. It premiered on October 18, 2024. Viewers rate it 6.4 out of 10. It is currently running. It runs 2 seasons.
What Rivals Is About
Rivals dives headfirst into the cut-throat world of independent television in 1986, where the shoulder pads are big and ambitions even bigger. In the fictional upper-class county of Rutshire, a long-standing rivalry between two powerful men is about to boil over: ex-Olympian, Member of Parliament, and notorious womaniser Rupert Campbell-Black, and his Rutshire neighbour Tony Baddingham, controller of the independent TV franchise Corinium Television. As tensions rise and rivalries deepen, there are spilled secrets, forged alliances, and snatched liaisons that draw wives, lovers, colleagues, friends, and families into their battle.
What to Expect When You Watch
The format keeps each instalment self-contained enough to drop into, the full run covers 14 episodes, spread across 2 seasons and it leans into its drama/comedy roots while leaving room for the quieter character beats.
Performance-wise the series leans on David Tennant, Aidan Turner and Danny Dyer to carry the emotional weight, with the rest of the ensemble filling out the world around them.
Cast and Creative Team
David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams and Katherine Parkinson lead the cast.
Key roles include David Tennant as Tony Baddingham; Aidan Turner as Declan O'Hara; Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones; Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black; Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook.
Why It Stands Out
Fans of drama, comedy and romance have a clear reason to give this one a shot. It sits comfortably alongside Disney+’s other originals, a 6.4/10 audience score puts it in steady company and it commits to its premise instead of hedging between tones.
Released in 2024 and carried by Disney+ with the series still running, it lands hardest with drama and comedy viewers.
How Rivals Compares
If Rivals lands for you, the next stops are Breaking Bad, Firefly and The Wire, which share its drama/comedy lean.
Each of those sits at a different point on the same spectrum, so they make a natural follow-up once you finish the run here.
Where to Stream
Rivals comes from Disney+. Check your preferred platform for current availability, since regional rights move around.
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On the whole Rivals is the kind of series that rewards a patient watch, with David Tennant and Aidan Turner doing the heaviest lifting, a tone that stays true to its drama/comedy roots, It has held up since 2024 and so if the premise sounds like your lane, the execution holds up.
The Bottom Line
Rivals is a safe bet for anyone already inside the drama and comedy lane, at 14 episodes it is an easy run to work through, the audience score holds around 6.4/10 and so there is little risk in starting it tonight.
Verdict: 6.4/10. Watch it if you want drama/comedy you can settle into.
