The Big Picture

• Get ready for an explosive rivalry between power-hungry elites in 1980s England in the upcoming series Rivals.
• The star-studded cast, including David Tennant and Aidan Turner, promises an exciting adaptation of Jilly Cooper's beloved novel.
• Stay tuned for more updates on Rivals as it heads towards its 2024 release.

Hulu has finally released the first glimpse of many people's favorite Doctor Who, David Tennant, and Poldark's Aidan Turner, in the upcoming series, Rivals. The images, highlighted by a suave-looking, gun-wielding Tennant as controller of Corinium Television, Tony Baddingham, set expectations high for the series that currently still awaits a release date.

The other first-look images showcase Alex Hassell's (The Boys) famed philanderer and ex-olympian Rupert Campbell-Black, looking particularly debonair, walking a selection of canine friends, with Turner as feisty TV presenter Declan O'Hara dressed in a dapper suit, ready to host his show, Nafessa Williams (Code Black) dressed in devilish red as Cameron Cook, Katherine Parkinson (Sherlock) as Lizzie Vereker, and Bella Maclean (Sex Education) as Taggie O'Hara.

What Is the Hulu Series 'Rivals' About?

Rivals is based on Jilly Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles, which documents the deceitful game-playing of the power-hungry elite in 1980s England. The rivalry between Campbell-Black and his neighbor Baddingham spirals out of control and becomes so severe that it infiltrates the world of television, with many other relationships being swept up in the maelstrom. The original novel, published in 1988, has held on to its legions of fans, with the story being passed down through generations leading many to be both excited and nervous about how this on-screen adaptation may do the source material justice.

The upcoming series, set to be led by Dominic Treadwell-Collins’ production company, Happy Prince, has already cast an ensemble befitting such an iconic tale, with the likes of Victoria Smurfit (Once Upon a Time), Danny Dyer (EastEnders), Emily Atack (The Inbetweeners), Oliver Chris (The Crown), Claire Rushbrook (Sherwood), and many more exciting names.

Writing for the series, which is set to feature eight episodes in total, has been completed by the likes of Sophie Goodhart, Marek Horn, Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor, Dare Aiyegbayo, Kefi Chadwick, and Tray Agyeman, among other names. Both original author Cooper and her literary agent Felicity Blunt have been added as executive producers on the project, in the hope of keeping some continuity as Rivals transitions from the page to the screen.

As yet, there is no release date for Rivals, with the only information so far regarding a release window slating the series for a 2024 release. To find out when a release date is announced, or to simply keep up to date with any information regarding Rivals, make sure to stay tuned to Collider. When it eventually arrives, Rivals is set to stream on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ everywhere else.

In the meantime, you can watch Poldark on Prime Video, and Tennant's seasons of Doctor Who are available on Max with new episodes airing on Disney+.

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