David Tennant’s 10/10 Hulu Sleeper Hit Returns With Fantastic Rotten Tomatoes Score, Better Than Season 1

by

After a two-year hiatus, the highly anticipated second season of Rivals is now available for streaming. While the first season received almost perfect reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Season 2 has somehow exceeded expectations, maintaining a flawless score with critics so far.

The second season of Rivals is currently getting perfect reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 100% approval rating. While the first season was also highly praised, it didn’t quite reach perfection, earning a score of 95%. The series has proven to be a hit with both critics and viewers, as Season 1 also boasts a 90% audience score. We’ll have to wait until May 15th, when the new season is widely available, to see how viewers react to Season 2.

Rivals Season 2 Debuts at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

Critic Therese Lacson believes the second season of Rivals is a significant improvement over the first. She says it’s not just enjoyable, but genuinely excellent, and that giving the show more room to develop has really paid off.

Critic Rebecca Cook from metro.co.uk also enjoyed the show, describing it as wonderfully retro. She noted the soundtrack features classic songs by artists like Sade, David Bowie, and Shocking Blue, and that the costumes, hairstyles, and set design intentionally embrace a slightly outdated, kitschy style.

According to a review in the Daily Telegraph, season two of Rivals is delightfully over-the-top, like a blend of a passionate Mexican soap opera and a serious British historical drama, with surprisingly stylish costumes. Reviewer Ed Power gave it a perfect score of 5 out of 5.

Rivals Returns After a 2-Year Wait

This British comedy-drama series premiered in 2024, available on Hulu in the US and Disney+ worldwide. It’s based on Jilly Cooper’s 1988 novel of the same name and takes place in the 1980s. The story centers on the intense rivalry between Rupert Campbell-Black, a member of the British nobility (played by Alex Hassell), and the head of Corinium Television, a local commercial TV station. Their conflict quickly expands to involve regional broadcasting, politics, romantic entanglements, and power struggles, mixing humor with dramatic storylines.

Season 2 dramatically ups the stakes. The conflict between the competing companies grows fiercer and more cutthroat. Tony becomes increasingly ruthless, resorting to tactics like blackmail and spreading scandals to stay on top. Although the season is darker overall, it still retains the show’s signature over-the-top humor, making it both more serious and more outrageous than before.

I really enjoyed the first season – eight episodes that dropped all at once, which was perfect for a weekend binge! But the second season is going bigger. They’re making it twelve episodes long, and they’re not releasing them all at the same time. Instead, we’ll get six episodes starting May 15th, and then another six later on – they haven’t said when those will be available yet, though.

Rivals Season 1 is in the U.S. and internationally on Disney+.

Read More

2026-05-12 23:14