Press.disney.co.uk
New season follows rave reviews for Season Two which became the biggest ever EMEA original premiere for Disney+ in the UK and Ireland*
Disney+ today announced that the critically acclaimed International Emmy® and BAFTA® Award-winning Rivals has been greenlit for a third season, with twelve new episodes ahead of Season Two returning in November. The series, based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s iconic Rutshire Chronicles novels and produced by Happy Prince (part of ITV Studios), has continued to captivate audiences with its sharp wit, high-stakes drama and richly drawn characters.
As the dust settles post the scandalous revelations in Season Two, we see the stakes become higher and the alliances more fragile, with nothing staying buried for long. New romances blossom, old flames rekindle and shocking secrets will be spilled in this third series which takes everyone’s favourite rivalries to the next level. In a world of power, passion and betrayal, everyone has something to lose.
Season Two of the Hulu Original series will return with a second batch of six new drama-filled episodes this November on Disney+ in the UK and internationally, and on Hulu in the U.S. The first part of the second season debuted in May, becoming Disney+’s biggest EMEA original premiere in the UK and Ireland.*
Lee Mason, Vice-President, Scripted, Disney+ EMEA, commented: “The phenomenal response to Rivals is a credit to the bold, irreverent and endlessly entertaining world created by Dame Jilly Cooper, our cast, creative team and production partners at Happy Prince. We’re delighted to be bringing audiences a third season on Disney+/Hulu. Expect more ambition, more romance, more rivalries and, of course, more scandal as we return to Rutshire for another irresistible chapter.”
Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Chief Creative Officer of Happy Prince and Alexander Lamb, Creative Director of Happy Prince added:“We’ve been delighted and overwhelmed by the audience’s response to season two of Rivals - testament to the hard work from everyone working on Rivals both on and off screen. Our one sadness is that Jilly didn’t get to witness the love for season two. But she’s still very much with us in sprit and would be so delighted that season three has been green lit. We’re so thrilled to continue to work with Disney as we dive deeper into the Rutshire Chronicles and expand the Cooperverse even further.”
Season Three of “Rivals”, made by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios will be executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins (‘A Very English Scandal’, ‘Holding’, ‘EastEnders’), Alexander Lamb (‘Ackley Bridge’, ‘The Bay’, ‘We Hunt Together’), Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade (‘The Riot Club’) and Felicity Blunt. “Rivals” is based on the novel of the same name, part of Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles. The series was commissioned by VP Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA, Lee Mason.
Disney+ is available from £5.99 per month - with no hidden costs and the ability to cancel anytime. There's something for everyone to watch, with a lifetime of great stories and a constantly growing library of blockbuster movies, brand new originals and exclusive hit shows, alongside live sports throughout the year. From Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Hulu, FX and ESPN, Disney+ spans everything from documentaries to critically acclaimed drama, comedy to classic animation, and general entertainment. Customers can enjoy titles from the second season of International Emmy® and BAFTA® Award winning series, “Rivals”, the award-winning comedy series “Only Murders in the Building”, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ box office smash “Zootropolis 2” and 20th Century Studios’ “Send Help”.
Robust parental controls ensure that Disney+ remains a suitable viewing experience for everyone in the family. Subscribers can set access limits on mature content and create PIN-protected profiles alongside the already existing Junior Mode profiles to give parents and guardians peace of mind.
All episodes of Season 1 and the first six episodes of Season 2 are available to stream now on Disney+.
MEDIA CONTACTS
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ABOUT HAPPY PRINCE
Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, is a drama label launched in 2019 by award-winning producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Placing the viewer squarely at the centre of all that they do, the label’s ambition is to tell quality authentic, intelligent and heartfelt stories that emotionally resonate with a broad audience. Its current slate includes; Jim Cartwright's award-winning play The Rise & Fall of Little Voice with Miramax TV, Daughter for ITV and ITVX, written by BAFTA and RTS award-winning writer Sarah Phelps and Wideacre, the international bestselling novel from Philippa Gregory, the acclaimed author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen while previous shows include the adaptation of Graham Norton’s novel Holding and modern love story You & Me for ITVX and of course RIVALS for Disney+ and Hulu.
Prior to Happy Prince, Treadwell-Collins was Head of Television at Blueprint Pictures, where he was Executive Producer for the Golden Globe, Emmy, Critics Choice, Rose D'Or, RTS and BAFTA-winning series A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, written by Russell T Davies and directed by Stephen Frears. Before this he was Executive Producer of EastEnders, bringing Danny Dyer and his family into the Queen Vic and creating the show’s iconic ‘Who Killed Lucy?’ storyline with Alex Lamb, which climaxed after a year with a week of live episodes, reaching over 20 million viewers and winning BAFTA, RTS, NTA, MIND, British Soap and Attitude awards. Dominic also exec produced and wrote the pilot episode for series one of RIVALS.
Alexander Lamb joined Happy Prince in 2021 and works as Executive Producer across the slate, working closely with Treadwell-Collins. In 2019 Lamb produced the second series of ITV ratings smash The Bay for Tall Story Pictures part of ITV Studios before joining BBC Studios as Creative Executive where he oversaw a number of developments and was Executive Producer on Alibi’s We Hunt Together. Before this he produced 2 series of celebrated Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge for The Forge, and was Story Producer for EastEnders, overseeing the BAFTA-winning “Who Killed Lucy” plots as well as creating some of EastEnders' most enduring and award-winning characters and storylines with Dominic over a period of fifteen years. He has also worked on Emmerdale, Waterloo Road and T4. More recently Alex exec produced YOU & ME for ITV and RIVALS for Disney+ and Hulu.