Rivals is coming back for a second season — but is every cast member returning?
Based on Jilly Cooper‘s novel of the same name, Disney+ and Hulu’s Rivals centers around a feud between two men fighting for control of a television station in 1980s Britain. Rivals stars an ensemble cast made up of Aidan Turner, David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Bella MacLean, Nafessa Williams, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer.
The first season ended with several major cliffhangers after Declan (Turner), Rupert (Hassell) and Freddie’s (Dyer) Venturer beat out Tony’s (Tennant) Corinium for the franchise recommendation. Things took a turn when Tony learned about Cameron’s (Williams) relationship with Rupert and lashed out by attacking her. Cameron defended herself, and it remains unclear whether Tony is still alive by the end of the season 1 finale.
Meanwhile, Declan had his own issues after his wife, Maud (Smurfit), decided to leave for an acting opportunity. Declan will also likely end up at odds with Rupert after telling his friend not to pursue anything with his daughter, Taggie (MacLean). Rupert broke that promise at the end of the first season when he finally kissed Taggie despite being in a relationship with Cameron.
Disney has confirmed that season 2 is in production so keep scrolling to find out who is filming:
Alex Hassell
What would Rivals be without Rupert at the center of it all? Luckily, we don’t have to find out because Hassell is reprising the role in season 2.
“I hope the road to true love is bumpy. I hope that Rupert isn’t changed too quickly and too much,” he teased exclusively to Us Weekly in December 2024. “Part of the pleasure is what Rupert does and gets up to …what a mischief maker he is — on some level — and that he has these huge blind spots.”
David Tennant
A major change from the book was Cameron beating up Tony instead of the other way around. The season 1 finale left Tony’s fate unclear as he bled out in his office, with executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins previously addressing whether Tony was actually dead.
“There are so many possibilities about what could happen, but what we do know is revenge is a dish best served on television,” Collins told TV Insider in October 2024.
Luckily, viewers don’t have to wait until the show airs because the official Rivals social media account teased Tennant’s attendance at the first cast script read for season 2.
Aidan Turner
Declan — and his mustache — are returning for season 2 of Rivals.
“I was making an excuse with the showrunner Dominic [Treadwell-Collins]. I was saying, ‘I need to keep this mustache for a few weeks because we have reshoots.’ And he said, ‘OK, maybe a week or so.’ And sure enough we did do some reshoots,” Turner recalled to Us in December 2024. “But I remember at the time thinking, ‘I really don’t want to get rid of this.’ And when the reshoots were done, I think I kept it for another week when I didn’t need to.”
He added: “I kind of lied to a few friends saying that they might call us back for more reshoots. I wasn’t ready to get rid of it — and that’s never happened to me before. I think the universe does tell us things and there’s something in that. There’s a reason why I didn’t want to get rid of it. I enjoyed the show so much and I really responded to this character and I didn’t want the world to be over.”
Victoria Smurfit
Declan and Maud’s marriage reached a breaking point in the finale, but is this the end?
“She’s sacrificed a lot. It’s slowly dawning on Declan — it comes in waves where he’ll get a lot of it and then he’ll sort of try to shake it up because of the guilt and the shame that’s surrounded with that and get busy again. Then it’ll come back again,” Turner told Us in December 2024. “It’s by the end of the season that it’s really dawning on him the damage that he’s caused.”
Turner wasn’t sure where the story would go from here.
“It always felt to me that Declan has a very complicated and complex relationship with his wife and with his family. But it always felt very real to me. So I always had a door in that didn’t feel like I needed to struggle for it. He is a good guy, essentially,” he noted. “He loves his family and he just wants to be with him. But of course there’s ego and there’s all of these other things that get complicated. Life is tricky and complicated and not what you think it’s going to be. It’s just an understanding of that.”
Nafessa Williams
Three people walk down a hallway in Rivals. Hulu
Williams was seen in footage from the script read through in May 2025. Before the cast reunited, Us spoke to Turner about the chances of Cameron and Declan developing a romance.
“With the Cameron situation, they work very well together. And in the [book], there’s a project they’re both working on outside of the country that brings them both away,” Turner shared with Us in December 2024. “And I think their friendship and their relationship is put to the test. That is all I can say. I don’t want to say too much.”
Bella Maclean
After ending season 1 on a cliffhanger for Rupert and Taggie, their story is just getting started.
“I’m really intrigued. There’s so many obstacles in our way and Rupert is really conflicted morally. I wonder what will happen now with Taggie,” MacLean exclusively told Us in December 2024. “It will be a lot more bumpy, but what that means for Taggie is a really interesting thing. There’s loads of ideas being thrown around. We’ve got to get season 2 fast.”
Katherine Parkinson
Lizzie and Freddie spent the entire first season fighting their feelings for each other until they finally slept together in the finale. Season 2 is expected to address the aftermath since Lizzie is married to James while Freddie is married to Valerie.
Oliver Chris
Chris is expected to reprise his role as James in the second season.
Danny Dyer
The official Disney U.K account shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Dyer on set of the second season.
Emily Atack
Season 1 introduced Sarah as Paul’s (Rufus Jones) wife who was often unfaithful with Rupert and later James. She found out that she’s expecting a child at the end of season 1 — except it’s unclear who the father is. Season 2 is expected to return to address that.
