Rivals viewers are in for a frustrating wait as the midseason finale concludes with a major cliffhanger.
Episode six of the second series dropped on Disney+ on Friday, with the racy shenanigans of the first batch of episodes swapped for an altogether darker storyline.
Set against the backdrop of hurricane weather, the series’ main story thread of Tony Baddingham’s (played by David Tennant) affair with Maud O’Hara (Victoria Smurfit), the wife of his nemesis Declan (Aidan Turner), finally comes to a head.
As the stormy weather displaces key characters around the mansions and manors of Rutshire the episode ends with a shock death.
The sixth episode concludes the first half of series two, with the show reportedly planning to drop its next batch of episodes in October.
Disney+ has yet to confirm when the final six episodes of the season will air, with just a ‘late 2026′ date teased, much to fans’ frustrations.
Rivals viewers are in for a frustrating wait as the midseason finale concludes with a major cliffhanger, pictured; Tony Baddingham (played by David Tennant) and Maud O’Hara (Victoria Smurfit)
Episode six of the second series dropped on Disney+ on Friday, with the racy shenanigans of the first batch of episodes swapped for an altogether darker storyline. Pictured; Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara
‘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.’
‘I would rather wait for a late summer release instead of waiting for 6 months between the two parts,’ said one fan on social media.
Others have welcomed the decision to split the series though, with one viewer pointing out:
‘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!’
Ahead of the midseason break critics had declared that series two more than lives up to its opening run, with a string of five-star reviews heralding its return to screens last month.
Based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s 1988 novel, the comedy-drama debuted on Disney+ in October 2024 and immediately became a huge hit. The eight-episode first series ended in December 2024 and was soon renewed for a second outing.
Critics previewing the first four episodes unanimously praised the second outing.
Sarah Dempster for The Guardian gave the show five stars but mused ‘how best to reward such exquisitely knowing escapism? Ten stars? Ten thousand stars? Rivals is beyond earthly praise’.
As the stormy weather displaces key characters around the mansions and manors of Rutshire the episode ends with a shock death. Pictured; Danny Dyer as Freddie and Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie
The Telegraph‘s Benji Wilson agreed with another five-star write-up, as he declared that ‘Rivals continues to refresh the parts that other television cannot reach – a heady mix of guilty pleasure, trenchant satire, rambunctious comedy and out-and-out trash’.
Carol Midgley for The Times said ‘despite its deliberate corniness, this is also gloriously uplifting television. It is unashamedly celebratory and perhaps even better than the last series’.
Den Of Geek‘s Lacy Baugher praised the show’s ‘sprawling cast’ who ‘remain thoroughly excellent throughout’.
Baugher singled out Emily Atack ‘who steals much of this run of episodes, and makes her Sarah feel indispensable to the larger world of Rutshire in ways few of us likely expected’.
Rebecca Nicholson for the Financial Times was one of the few to not award five stars, giving the second series three instead.
Set against the backdrop of hurricane weather, the series’ main story thread of Tony Baddingham’s affair with Maud O’Hara
‘Some of the storylines, particularly those about the TV industry, drag a little,’ she wrote. ‘Rivals needs more slapstick, more of those capers, to keep things as light as they need to be for it to really work… Rivals is at its strongest when it embraces its silly side, and accepts its lot as a jolly old romp.’
Nick Hilton for The Independent knocked one star off but said there was plenty to rave about, particularly in the acting. ‘There is a sense, across the cast, that everyone is enjoying themselves immensely, whether they’re romping on a pony or romping on a staircase,’ he writes.
‘That’s what makes Rivals such a rare treat in today’s television landscape. It is well-written and well-acted, but it aspires to nothing more than being fun. Real, associable human emotions are kept at arm’s length in favour of stylised bucolic horniness.’
Rivals series two episodes one to six is available to stream now on Disney+
