After a heartbreaking end to the mid-season finale, Disney has confirmed that season two of Rivals will return this November.
The Jilly Cooper adaptation returned to screens for its second season in May, kicking off a six-episode run on Disney+ after a two-year break from season one.
Episode six of season two streamed on Friday, 5 June, ending with a dramatic death, and now fans have to wait another five months to see how everything unfolds.
In line with announcing when the season two hiatus will end, Disney and Hulu unveiled a teaser trailer for the antics to come, teasing more sex, scandal and confrontation.
The show will stream on Disney+ in the UK and internationally, and on Hulu in the U.S.
‘Rivals’ hits new heights in mid-season finale
What makes the wait until November even more agonising is that the mid-season finale of Rivals was perhaps the greatest episode yet.
Audiences new and old have fallen in love with this adaptation of Cooper’s series of Rutshire Chronicles novels for several reasons.
For one, it has an incredible ensemble cast, led by Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, David Tennant and Katherine Parkinson.
Secondly, the ensemble reaches far beyond that, boasting an array of amazing talent portraying well-crafted characters.
Then, of course, there is the sex, and Rivals is full of it.
If you like a sexy romp, this is the show for it, and the sexiness is wrapped up in 1980s nostalgia, romance, humour and scandal.
But season two, episode six, is perhaps the best Rivals has been, and it showcased a slight change of the formula.
Spoilers ahead!
This episode opens with Louis Landau’s Archie Baddingham and Catriona Chandler’s Caitlin O’Hara.
Their relationship has been slowly blossoming over a few episodes, and Archie, despite being a self-proclaimed sex obsessive, has been patient as Caitlin explores this level of intimacy for the first time.
With considered dialogue and careful consent, Archie and Caitlin have sex in the opening scenes of episode six.
Rather than the lustful, almost animalistic scenes from other episodes, this intimate encounter is gentle and shows on-screen how losing your virginity should be treated with the utmost care.
Rivals is often about vulnerability, and Caitlin here is, of course, vulnerable, but the audience is taught the positive power of a caring partner in her case.
It’s such an important thing to put on screen, and bravo to the cast and crew of Rivals for this.
Alas, shortly after their encounter, Archie and Caitlin discover some rogue photography film in the young man’s dark room, exposing the rather sordid affair between Rivals’ mega villain Tony Baddingham (Tennant) and Maud O’Hara (Victoria Smurfit).
Not long after, Monica Baddingham (Claire Rushbrook) returns home, and quickly discovers the latest, and perhaps worst of her husband Tony’s dastardly deeds.
It all comes up at a family dinner, with a storm brewing outside, Archie snaps at his father, Monica flees the scene, and Caitlin is a weary bystander.
Monica finds herself wandering through nighttime Rutshire to Lizzie Vereker’s (Parkinson) house.
These two characters are both trapped in loveless marriages, to horrible, unfaithful husbands and in an impactful exchange at the kitchen table, they lay their emotional cards bare.
Both women speak of sacrificing true love for the sake of those around them, and it’s not until the future of their daughter’s independence comes into conversation that they find the courage to chase their own desires.
Rushbrook and Parkinson are spellbinding in this exchange, and it is equal parts heartbreaking and mesmerising to watch.
It motivates Monica to return home to confront Tony, and call for a divorce and herein lies another dramatic showcase for audiences to enjoy.
Rushbrook holds quiet power with aplomb, while we see Tennant descend into desperation, shattered ego, and biting callousness.
In a word, the scene is superb.
Monica is then compelled to take Caitlin home to the O’Hara residence, and Tony rings ahead to warn Maud that judgment is coming.
All the while, a hurricane has been brewing.
With Monica and Caitlin nowhere to be seen, Declan O’Hara (Turner) and Rupert Campbell-Black go off in search.
Declan’s daughter Caitlin is found, scarred and cut.
But where is Monica?
And so the episode builds on the foundation laid in Lizzie’s kitchen, as she goes to Dyer’s Freddie Jones to continue their romantic affair.
Meanwhile, Rupert, Tony’s arch nemesis, with tears in his eyes, delivers Lord Baddingham the terrible news that audiences could feel coming the minute Monica drove off into the night.
She didn’t make it.
The best episode of TV in 2026
And so, over just under an hour of television, Rivals takes you through an emotional whirlwind, unrelenting and refusing to pull its punches.
Unlike other episodes, we focus on a smaller selection of the ensemble.
There’s little to no comedy relief, and no grand television setpiece from Corinium or Venturer.
Instead, this mid-season finale delivers one of the best episodes of television drama in 2026.
Now the agonising wait until November begins.
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