Disney+‘s beloved Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals took the U.K. by storm this fall — but showrunner Dominic Treadwell-Collins always had his U.S. audience in mind, too.
“When we were thinking about the Americans — I grew up spending a lot of time in the States because my grandparents lived there — so I grew up in American television, and I understand the American obsession with how odd the British are,” Treadwell-Collins tells The Hollywood Reporter. “This show celebrates Britishness and class and peculiar sex and joyous sex. We talked a lot about it being Bridget Jones in tone.”
“That Daniel Cleaver naughtiness is very much Rupert,” the award-winning producer, known for work such as A Very English Scandal and EastEnders, continues. “I think that’s what is appealing to the U.S., and the word-of-mouth is growing that, ‘Oh my gosh, this show is dirty.’ It’s a more modern Downton [Abbey] that’s filthy and more cut-throat.”
Rivals – already confirmed for season two — landed on Hulu in the States in October. The story follows Cooper’s novel on the infamous scoundrel and old money MP Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and his rivalry with Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) that seeps into the 1980s-set world of Baddingham’s Corinium independent commercial television station, located in the fictional county of Rutshire, the Cotswolds in southwest England.
Baddingham hires a dynamic Irish newsman named Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner), husband of actress Maud (Victoria Smurfit), away from the BBC. Declan is plunged into the outrageous lives of the Rutshire elite, featuring beloved characters such as Lizzie Vereker (Katharine Parkinson), Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer) and Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams).
At the center is a love story, however, between a young and inexperienced Taggie (Bella Maclean), daughter of the O’Haras, and Campbell-Black, who are drawn to each other amidst the raucous landscape of sex, mischief and shoulder pads.
Alex Hassell and Bella Maclean in ‘Rivals’.
Courtesy of Disney+
Cooper, whose bestselling Rutshire Chronicles made her a household name in the U.K., was integral to Treadwell-Collins’ process. “We were very key all the way through to make sure Jilly was happy,” he says. “Jilly signed off scripts. She gave notes. I remember we’d written that Rupert asked Declan for his cutlery back, and Jilly went, ‘He would never say the word cutlery! He would say silverware.’ That’s authenticity.”
The showrunner explains that he’s been desperate for a long time to adapt Cooper’s work. “Over the years, lots of people have laughed at me and ridiculed me a bit for [wanting to adapt them],” he says.
“Other television people said, ‘Oh, they’re a bit slap-my-thigh silly.’ And I said, ‘No, they they’re about Britishness and class and love and longing!’ I knew how great they could be.” It was only when he set up the production company Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, Treadwell-Collins finally felt Rivals had found a home.
It is clearly a passion project, telling by the enthusiasm in the producer’s voice. “The reason I started with this book is because the Rupert-Taggie romance,” he says to THR. “That’s the main thrust of it, but [Declan O’Hara] as well. He’s an Irish immigrant who comes into this posh world. My father was also an Irishman of farming stock that came to England, sent me to [boys’ private boarding school in England] Harrow, which is the school that Rupert attended. I’ve seen these people. I know Ruperts. I was at school with Rupert, and I understand this class system as an outsider myself.”
Cooper’s fanbase is notoriously predominantly women, but Rivals the program has seemed to disrupt that. “It’s become a show that people are watching together,” he adds, “I’ve had messages from friends saying it spiced up their sex life — they reckon the British and American birthrate is going to go up as a result of this show.”
Treadwell-Collins is not at all coy when discussing season two, rather he is fervidly excited, as word of mouth travels farther and international audiences grow. “Our hope has always been the Jilly Cooper-verse,” he says. “And what I find fascinating is quite a young U.S. audience are reading ahead now, comparing Rupert and Taggie to Twilight! This is a universal story.”
“Of course, I’ve got the ghost of season one on my shoulders,” he admits. “I’m writing as someone who’s a type A overachiever. That’s a challenge to have. So looking ahead to season two, it’s bigger, better, bolder, stronger. We know we want to keep coming back with the show.”
“We’ve already started working on scripts. We’re laying down little Easter eggs for the viewers,” the Rivals boss teases. “We’re being really rigorous. But what’s great is the team are fans. We watch telly, we are the audience, so we’re going to be harder on ourselves than the audience ever will.”