#rivals article

[stelly38]

‘Rivals’ Showrunner Talks “Bigger, Better, Bolder” Season 2, ‘Bridget Jones’ “Naughtiness” Appealing to the U.S.

"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," Dominic Treadwell-Collins tells THR.

Di5ney+'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.

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.”

By Lily Ford for the Hollywood Reporter, December 23, 2024. Here's the link if you want it with the ads and pop ups.

[sforzesco]

you know that post about how scholars talk shit about each other when they write the phrase 'one might be tempted to assume,' or however it went. the entirety of crassus scholarship is like this.

[grogumaximus]

[david-tennant-wearing-things]

Me: I’m probably not going to watch Rivals, it’s really not my genre and I'm pretty sure the whole thing will be in GIF format on my dash anyway

David:

Link

Is anyone surprised that this is the first interview quote that's genuinely tempted to watch Rivals? Because I'm not surprised at all.

Yeah so anyway if someone could send me screenshots of every single thing he wears so I can find his aunt's blouse I'd appreciate it very much thank you /hj

Alternatively, you could contribute to doesthedogdie.com (and tag specific episodes!) and then I'll love you forever ❤️❤️

[an-aussie-button-masher]

The Multiverse's Mightiest Heroes - A Quick Review of the Marvel Rivals Closed Beta Test

   Doom strikes! Across an entangled timestream converging around a duo of battling Doctor Dooms, various iconic (and some obscure) heroes and villains from across the Marvel multiverse are thrown into battle in NetEase’s Marvel Rivals! An upcoming hero shooter in the same vein as Overwatch or Apex Legends, Rivals hosted a closed beta test earlier this year that I was lucky enough to participate in. For two weeks, testers got to play as 23 different Marvel characters battling in the halls of Asgard or the neon streets of Tokyo 2099 in a surprisingly polished beta with only a small handful of standout issues. Testers could play as tanky Vanguards like Thor or Magneto, powerful Duelists like Iron Man and Spider-Man, or helpful Strategists like Rocket Raccoon and Luna Snow. I’ll share my thoughts on the closed beta here before the full game releases on December 6th 2024 - enjoy!

   The majority of the cast has highly satisfying gameplay; bringing the thunder as Thor or zipping around as Spider-Man feels just as cool to play as it seems in the comics and films. Many characters should also feel very familiar to players of other hero shooters - for example, Storm’s controllable weather aura will remind Overwatch players of Lúcio’s switchable music - and I had no trouble quickly picking up how to play as, alongside, or against each hero despite the sheer number of them. Quick kill times means it’s easier to feel like you’re providing more impact per match even if it means more personal deaths - if all your scoreboard numbers are high, you can’t be doing too poorly right? The regenerating destructible environments also really set Rivals apart from the rest of the genre and keep things interesting. Someone hiding from you in a building? Just get rid of the building!   Of course, it was a beta test, so some issues are inevitable. I’m expecting most of these to be resolved by launch - but one can only hope. The lack of map variety was one particular problem; with only three game modes across four maps in total, it started to feel rather repetitive once I’d escorted Spider-Zero through Tokyo 2099 nine matches in a row. I’m also begging the developers to add proper Australia/Oceania servers - I, and plenty others, had to endure skyrocketing latency all beta long, getting repeatedly trapped in the loading screen for half the duration of many matches! I tended to be quite late to those first decisive team fights after staring at that 99% loading bar for several minutes.    Gameplay aside, this game’s artstyle is amazing. The characters all look incredibly striking and distinct, instantly recognisable yet with a unique twist on each one. Definitely my favourite look for Scarlet Witch in any of her adaptations. The voice acting is also top-notch, with an absolutely stacked cast; Troy Baker, Nolan North, Nika Futterman, Liam O’Brien, James Arnold Taylor, Yuri Lowenthal, and so so many more familiar talents. Finally, my personal highlight - lore! A hero shooter with actual in-game storytelling! Imagine that. Each hero includes a snippet of excellent writing found in their gallery that is just as compelling as the gameplay itself, showcasing various different story threads all slowly weaving together around the core conflict between two alternate versions of Doctor Doom. I’m just as excited to see how all their stories unfold as I am to play the game again when it releases on December 6th 2024.   I hope you enjoyed this quick review of the Marvel Rivals Closed Beta Test! Feedback, reblogs and likes are all much appreciated!

   Thanks for reading!

An Aussie Button-Masher

[chemzee]

I already told this particular opinion before but gonna post it here too.

Terrible chemzee opinion 2636

If we look at it from Cassandra's perspective, I believe she was mostly absolutely justified in Y1. Because if some random girl tried to make me dissapear/seriously hurt/kill me (the way it looked like from her perspective) but failed I'd also do a background check on her too 🤨 like girl what if she already hurt someone before? Plus, Cass wanting Ivy to get expelled? DUH she though Ivy almost killed her! Plus she learned she allegedly wasn't the first one so she's even more justified.

[skeith-platinumprincess]

Marvel has revealed that they will be publishing an Overwatch clone featuring various Marvel Heroes! Full details in the link below and yes, that IS Peni Parker in this game!

[queenlua]

What began as a friendship between Ann and Abraham [Lincoln] turned at some point into romance. They shared an understanding, according to friends, that they would marry after Ann completed her studies at the Female Academy in Jacksonville. Ann was only twenty-two in the summer of 1835. While New Salem sweltered through one of the hottest summers in the history of the state, a deadly fever, possibly typhoid, spread through the town. Ann, as well as several of Lincoln's friends, perished in the epidemic. After Ann's death, Abraham seemed "indifferent, to transpiring events," one neighbor recalled, "had but Little to say, but would take his gun and wander off in the woods by him self." Elizabeth Abell, a New Salem neighbor who had become a surrogate mother to Lincoln, claimed she had "never seen a man mourn for a companion than he did." His melancholy deepened on dark and gloomy days, for he could never "be reconcile[d]," he said, "to have the snow—rains and storms to beat on her grave." Acquaintances feared that he had become "temporarily deranged," and that unless he pulled himself together, "reason would desert her throne."

goddamn. fuckin bleak period in mr sixteenth president's life

[lizzievereker]

New Katherine interview where she discusses rivals and her own personal life/views regarding sex and relationships. 💛

[hoperays-song]

The Gang’s Crimes

***WARNING: THIS BLOG DOES NOT PROMOTE THE ROBBING OF BANKS OR JEWELER’S. DO NOT ROB THINGS AND BLAME THIS BLOG.***

Can we talk about how the gang picked the hardest to execute but least damaging crime they could commit? 

Like bank robbing? Unless you use physical force and threaten people, no one knows you’re there. And we see the alarm start ringing after they break a window, an alarm which alerted the police. Bank’s typically have silent alarms that can be triggered without a robber being alerted if they do the whole ‘charge in the front, threaten people, and demand money’ routine. That clearly wasn’t the case or nearby police units would have been alerted. Meaning the gang did the much harder version of ‘sneak in, steal stuff, and sneak out without triggering extra security systems’. They never threatened people.

So, their crimes? Essentially victimless. Banks have insurance for money that was stolen, as do jewelers and other companies that would have been shipping that much gold. The banks and gold owner’s are large corporations that absolutely got their money back at least for the most part.

And if your bank is robbed? Congrats, you aren’t really going to be affected. You might have to wait to use the ATM for a few hours/days there while it’s being investigated, but you personally did not lose any money as it is all insured. And the money taken from the bank? It’s not actually your money since banks loan it out. It’s standard practice. You are not going to lose anything.

The gang decided to commit an intensively difficult crime with the least amount of victims possible. They were non-violent and bypassed security systems instead of just holding up said bank. They didn’t hurt innocent people.

Of course Johnny is an absolute sweetheart. Of course the rest of the gang turned out to also be ridiculously nice and good people. They picked a crime that doesn’t really hurt people. They’re highly moral about their crimes when you think about it, which piled upon their need for money, is probably what lead them to chose what they did and explains why we never see Johnny protesting about the actual robbery aspect itself.

[holysweetcherryorchardtree]

Sometimes I think about how the former captain of Canada’s women's hockey team is married to the former captain of USA's women's hockey team and I think we need a movie about that love story tbh.

[cruelsister-moved2]

the thing about pastors freaking out because of AI sermons or whatever does not prove that AI is going to replace humans or whatever it just proves that like prosperity gospel tier sermons are so formulaic and soulless as hell they could easily be replaced by a chatbot

[94erz]

Losing my mind about ARMY getting their asses dragged in the Nicki/Megan situation that's a week going. Rolling Stone, or more specifically Larisha Paul, I'll pray for you girl, that was unhinged and I love it.

[direwombat]

still figuring out saoirse's timeline but fldsakjf just had the idea of sometime in the early-to-mid 2010s price was dragged to a press conference where he was forced to speak and saoirse was one of the journalists present and her questions were fucking merciless to the point where they start arguing and someone threatens to call security on her to escort her out and while she never took anything quite out of context, the article she wrote afterwards definitely didn't paint price (or any other brass in attendance) in the most sympathetic light. and as the years go on this same interaction continues to play out

established relationship except that relationship is "you're a fuckin' nuisance. a pain in my arse. why do i keep running into you? please stop asking/dodging these questions."

[attila-werther]

anyway we've left 'inspired by dead romans territory' so joseph is hark's right hand man/yakuza wife archetype, and it's been an amount of time since the street wars broke out so a good number of new members to the cast don't remember the specifics and the general opinion is very, 'so joseph is CLEARLY just arm candy,' up until there's a dinner invitation because sometimes a dinner invitation is a very polite execution.

[lizardsfromspace]

Alex Jones is livestreaming rn and for the first and only time in my life it's appointment viewing. He got evicted from his studio mid-stream and they had to cover for him when he popped up in his "satellite studio" (a room in his house I assume) devoid of the Infowars branding. He's talking about how "tens of millions" of people have watched his final broadcast & you can literally see he has far less than a million viewers in the bottom corner (and this is on Twitter, which inflates views of videos ever since Elon had to convince people anyway gives a shit about Tucker Carlson's livestreams). He's currently whining that they chose not to sell his site back to him at auction, so he could keep doing the crimes that are why he was selling his website.

I didn't see this personally but he's apparently read out the Onion's announcement, which is a fake article by a fake corporation, out loud several times as if it was real. Anyway it should be noted how screwed he is, bc...

...while he can livestream under his own name, they own his warehouses of dubious supplements. He has nothing to sell but t-shirts protesting that his show is going down. Since Infowars was, first and foremost, a lifestyle brand, this leaves him, scientifically speaking, "totally fucked". He doesn't have ads, that's the only way he makes money

He just promised that he will "win the information war" which. You were sued into oblivion for lying about the parents of murdered children & lost your platform so hard you don't even have a studio anymore & your brand was seized by a rival to make fun of you. I didn't think the Infowar was a real thing you could lose, but I'm not sure there's a more definitive way to lose the information war. Anyway he's now ranting about fluoride