It’s already one of 2024’s most-talked about shows.
Disney+ has just added Rivals, a new TV series that has quickly become one of 2024’s most talked about shows.
Based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Jilly Cooper, the series is set in ’80s Britain and “dives headfirst into the cutthroat world of TV where hair-dos are big and ambitions are even bigger”.
“Deals are brokered in boardrooms, as well as bedrooms,” the plot synopsis reads.
“With every man and woman out only for themselves, can true love really blossom?”
Rivals boasts are star-studded ensemble cast that includes Aidan Turner (Poldark), Alex Hassell (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Danny Dyer (The Football Factory), David Tennant (Broadchurch), Emily Atack (The Inbetweeners), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd), Nafessa Williams (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody) and Victoria Smurfit (Once Upon a Time).
And ahead of its release, JOE caught up with the show’s Irish stars Turner and Smurfit.
On the main reason he joined Rivals, Turner said: “Really funny – it had been awhile since I’d read something as funny as this.”
Urging people to watch the series, Smurfit added: “If you enjoy laughing, if you enjoy outrage, if you enjoy kindness, heart, love, buckets and buckets of sex – if you enjoy any of those things you should probably watch it.”
Indeed, Rivals has already been very acclaimed – boasting a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the website describing the show as “addictive”.
The series has also provoked much discussion on account of its many racy scenes.
You can read a sample of some of the glowing reviews for the show right here:
Financial Times: “Coming on like a mash-up of Dynasty, Downton Abbey and the Carry On films, Rivals is puerile, gratuitous and an absolute riot.”
The Guardian: “We are living through an age of especially dour television… In this context, Rivals feels like nothing less than an explosion. We should all be extremely glad it’s here.”
London Evening Standard: “Rivals is gloriously trashy and arch, the epitome of guilty-pleasure TV, everyone smoking and smirking in between the schtupping.”
New Statesman: “It’s very funny; its deepest impulses are satirical. But no one’s winking at the camera, let alone worrying about giving offence. Its stars seem only to be hell bent on giving the performance of their lives.”
All eight episodes of Rivals are streaming on Disney+ right now.
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