#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]

[lizzievereker]

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

[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

[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.

[candy-shockwave-squid]

Looking back the first Overwatch game being $40-60 depending on whatever standard or special version was available, while still having a loot box system for so long was whack. I did hear, I think, that something was eventually done to minimize if not outright take out the loot box/gambling system, but they still had it for a good few years. And now the original game is dead. Also, that high of a price for the game, all the extra cash they made with skins/sprays/emotes/etc, and the game would be stagnant except for a yearly event or 2, and sometimes a new character or map would drop-sometimes. Not even gonna touch on how shitty Blizzard itself is.

I'm glad I never bought the game, despite my interest in the characters and designs back in 2016-2018, just seemed like it would have been a disappoint in the long run if I had gotten fully attached to it. And idrgaf about Overwatch 2, neat that this time its a free to play, I guess.

[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.

[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.

[an-aussie-button-masher]

2024 Gaming Wrap-Up

   It’s that time of year again! I’m not talking about Christmas or whatever - it’s time for the yearly Gaming Wrap-Up where we take a look back at the past twelve months in the video gaming world. There’s no need to dwell too much on the real world; we all know how things are going at the moment. It’s a bit rough right now to say the least, but video games are always at least an enjoyable escape and there’s always new releases, updates, announcements and other news to look forward to. As we wind down for the holidays and prepare for whatever comes next, let’s take a moment to remember some of our favourite games and other related events that happened throughout 2024. Enjoy!

JANUARY - MARCH    The year had a bumpy beginning for those working within the video game industry itself, as a string of constant mass layoffs from many major development and publishing groups (such as Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Riot) has led to such jobs being on shaky ground for countless people and making their futures very uncertain. The layoffs continued throughout the early half of 2024, becoming a major factor in the strikes that would occur later on.   On a more positive note, 2024 had a strong start for most video game releases. The Like A Dragon/Yakuza series continued in Hawaii with Infinite Wealth, the sole developer of the deckbuilding roguelike Balatro was shocked at how enormously popular the game instantly became, and long-time damsel-in-distress Princess Peach finally took centre stage as the playable hero of Princess Peach: Showtime! Meanwhile, some highly-anticipated remakes of Final Fantasy VII and The Last of Us II released, but an awful reception to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League certainly killed a lot of faith in the gaming corner of the DC universe.

APRIL - JUNE    Further along in the year, the 2024 Summer Games Fest was held, continuing to build up as a “replacement” for E3 as the main games showcase event of the year. Several exciting new titles were announced, including Star Wars Outlaws, Civilisation 7, and bizarrely enough an Among Us animated series adaptation! Speaking of adaptations, the Fallout live-action series also released, to be met with near-universal acclaim as a rare actually-good video game adaptation that remained faithful to the source material while telling a strong, original narrative.   The second quarter also saw the release of some popular games; Stellar Blade brought us a sci-fi action adventure that was just a tad overshadowed by the fanservice-y character designs, while MultiVersus (Warner Bros.’ fighting game counterpart to Super Smash Bros.) finally reached its full release after languishing in early access for the last couple years. Animal Well was the newest hit indie game, a labyrinthine metroidvania populated by wildlife and puzzles, and the current king of action RPGs Elden Ring received a major expansion dubbed Shadow of the Erdtree. 

JULY - SEPTEMBER    The video game industry’s turmoil came to a head in the latter half of the year with the beginning of the SAG-AFTRA voice acting strike that is still ongoing as I write this. After a year and a half of failed negotiations and concerns over the threat of replacement by AI voice recreations (as well as pressure from the mass layoffs earlier on), thousands of workers began a labour strike that would hopefully convince their employers to offer fairer negotiations. In lighter news, Sony Entertainment’s attempt to enter the hero shooter genre with Concord resulted in a staggeringly hilarious failure - high prices and unappealing characters led to such a colossal flop that Sony had to shut down the games’ servers and issue refunds within two weeks of launch! Good job Sony.   Contrasting Concord’s embarrassment, the release of Astro Bot was met with universal adoration as a clever old-fashioned platformer that thrives on the nostalgia of Sony’s long history of titles since 1994. Following in Princess Peach’s footsteps from earlier, Zelda also got to helm her own solo title with a new entry in the Legend of Zelda series titled Echoes of Wisdom. Meanwhile, Black Myth: Wukong starred the monkey hero of the classical Chinese tale Journey to the West in an action RPG adventure, and Star Wars Outlaws threw players into the depths of the cutthroat criminal underworld of a galaxy far, far away.

OCTOBER - DECEMBER    We round out the year with - what else? - The Game Awards of 2024! Astro Bot walked away with a more-than-deserved Game of the Year and several other wins, though it’s not like it had a whole lot of decent competition for it. Of course, the only real reason people pay attention to the awards is for all the juicy announcements and reveals that come with them: sequels for The Witcher, Okami and The Outer Worlds, yet another Elden Ring property, a flashy new trailer for Borderlands 4 that I for one am obsessed with, and a surprise announcement of Naughty Dog’s new space-opera IP called Intergalactic: The Heretic.   Besides the award show, the tail end of 2024 also saw some popular releases including the Persona-esque medieval fantasy RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, while Marvel Rivals jumped straight from the pages of a comic book to finally give Overwatch some truly strong competition in the hero-shooter genre. Finally, while it didn’t quite beat out Fallout in the awards for Best Adaptation, the second season of acclaimed animated series Arcane was still met with outstanding praise.

LOOKING AHEAD    So, where does that leave us for next year? We’ve got plenty of highly-anticipated games to look forward to in 2025, which still doesn’t sound like a real year we’re about to enter (what do you mean 2018 was seven years ago!?). It goes without saying that the biggest highlight of the year will be the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, which I’m not entirely exaggerating about when I call it the most anticipated video game release ever. Before that, however, we’ve still got the next few chapters of Toby Fox’s Deltarune and the superheroic hack-and-slasher Wolverine to keep us occupied, but the release I’m personally most hyped for is Borderlands 4 - I still can’t stop rewatching that trailer.   Oh, and, there’s also gonna be a Minecraft movie next year. So that’s…something. Maybe it’ll be one of those so-bad-it’s-good movies, but I’m not holding my breath. Not every adaptation can be as good as Fallout. Besides that, 2025 is looking to be an excellent year for the gaming world. So, despite the state of, well, everything right now, just hold on a little longer - there’s always something to stick around for, even if it’s just the next game you want to play.   Until then, I hope you enjoyed this look back at the gaming world of 2024, and I look forward to seeing you all again in 2025!   Happy Holidays!

An Aussie Button-Masher