Rivals Season 2 Reviews: Critics Heap Praise On ‘Glorious’ New Episodes

After a two-year wait, Rivals is finally back – and if any fans out there were nervous about whether season two could deliver on the outrageous fun provided by the first run, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Disney+’s adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster novels returned with three brand new episodes on Friday morning, with three more to come in the weeks ahead, and the rest of the season following later in the year.

In the lead-up to the release, these episodes were met with unanimous praise (check that 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes if you don’t believe us), with many of those glowing four- and five-star reviews hailing the new season as even better than its predecessor.

Here’s a selection of what the critics are saying about Rivals’ second season so far…

“How best to reward such exquisitely knowing escapism? Ten stars? Ten thousand stars? Rivals is beyond earthly praise. Let us instead insert a single rose between its tireless bum cheeks and raise a glass of Cinzano to its naked audacity. Bottoms up!”

“Despite its deliberate corniness, this is also gloriously uplifting television. It is unashamedly celebratory and perhaps even better than the last series, though there is no naked tennis this time.”

“The new series delivers exactly what we need in a week of grim headlines: pure, unadulterated escapism. Its unique blend of utter silliness, seriousness and chaos makes us glad that Rivals is so much more than an illicit affair, it’s a long term relationship we want to keep far beyond the morning after.”

“This is glossy, wickedly funny, politically incorrect and completely unashamed. When it comes to old-school escapist TV, Rivals is unrivalled.”

“[Season two is about] class, petty human jealousy, sex, and love […] of course this is a must watch!”

“What a romp this is. Any notion of second season nerves for the surprise Disney+ hit Rivals (Jilly Cooper was hardly hot property) are quickly dispelled in a gleeful continuation of the bonking, big hair and hilarity where there’s a belly laugh every 30 seconds.”

“Rivals continues to refresh the parts that other television cannot reach – a heady mix of guilty pleasure, trenchant satire, rambunctious comedy and out-and-out trash. Repeatedly, characters take their clothes off and jump into swimming pools for no reason. Sometimes you just have to go with it and take the leap yourself.”

“Dame Jilly Cooper died last October, a few months after season two of Rivals went into production. But her legacy looks secure: the residents of Rutshire are in safe hands.”

“Rivals [is] such a rare treat in today’s television landscape. It is well-written and well-acted, but it aspires to nothing more than being fun. Real, associable human emotions are kept at arm’s length in favour of stylised bucolic horniness.”

“If it were all about the plentiful sex, the audiences’ hard-on for the thrilling ’80s-set revenge drama would have long softened. As such the hateful feud between Tony and womanising MP Rupert Campbell-Black is even more fiery than the passionate entanglements that run rife in the season.”

“An unabashedly over-the-top 1980s-set drama that gleefully embraces the idea that there’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure, it’s a series that, at its heart, is about indulgence, both for its characters and for those watching along at home.

“Though it boasts a prestige cast, lavish sets, and a story that’s grounded in class tensions among the British society elite, it’s a show that determinedly refuses to take itself too seriously, and one that is deeply uninterested in lecturing its viewers about its characters’ (many, obvious) moral failings.”

“If Rivals’ first season was glam and fun, season two uses that as a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. The more complex and morally grey storylines refuse to take the easy way out despite the fluffy packaging.

“You might have found yourself rooting for extramarital affairs in season one, but season two is ready to douse you in some cold water and remind you that all actions have consequences. That’s what makes the series work: you get the good and the bad.”

The first three episodes of Rivals’ second season are now streaming on Disney+. Check out HuffPost UK’s full review here.