Rivals

There are eight episodes. It sags a bit towards the end, when the script concerns itself more with the business of regional television franchises than love and lust and shirtless hunks. But, on the whole, it’s a marvellous antidote to modern life.

A vivid, thrilling throwback to the soapy dramas of primetime television’s heyday. A scandalous, uninhibited romp from its very first scenes (which involve two characters joining the mile-high club in an airplane toilet), its story is full of betrayal, ambition, greed, and excess in all the best possible ways.

“Rivals” is yet more wealth-aganda, but it refuses to take itself too seriously and is all the better for it. Visually, it’s a terrific blend of classy and tacky. .... The heartfelt moments hit, but so does the humor.

I was more drawn to the qualities it has that’ve been largely absent from more prestigious shows this year: joy, and also abundance, sly humor, and fun. Amid a glut of dour, depressed series with Serious Things to Say, a show that carries itself so lightly is absolutely welcome.

There’s also a palpable energy slump in later episodes, as Corinium power plays bang on too long. Still, overall, Rivals is big, bold, witty and shameless.

Despite the fact that the huge cast and massive number of storylines made us dizzy, Rivals is deliciously and unapologetically trashy, and we have to give the show credit for that.

Rivals is a supremely confident, endlessly enjoyable time capsule. It goes down as easily as a glass of Buck's fizz with a cheeky slice of Viennetta on the side.

Rivals is a true gem within Disney Plus’s original UK content crown, living up to the understandable buzz around it. Prudes step aside because the rest of us will patiently be counting down the days till Rivals gets the season renewal it rightly deserves.

These are characters who happily indulge urges with a devil-may-care attitude (though they're not static, and do grow), with the audience able to comfortably await the inevitable fallout. It makes for a fun, thrilling watch, and it's backed by strong and charismatic performers who add enough complexity to avoid any dramatic ruts.

How much you enjoy Rivals will depend on how much of a Jilly Cooper fan you are (I think she is fabulous). But even if you’re not au fait with the books you can tuck in to a lavish series that takes you back to a decade (it is set in 1986) before mobile phones and when people still got steaming drunk at lunchtime. This is a big pink Anglo bubblegum of a production and a splash of retro-escapism.

Rivals wears its ugly side on its sleeve, letting David Tennant sink his teeth into a juicy villain role while embracing the shameless entertainment value of a primetime soap.

The series flips between confused sincerity and all-out sex farce making for a glossy puddle of a show, seemingly unwilling to admit its own quite joyful lack of depth. If only the Disney bosses had been brave enough to open the stable door, Rivals might have been able to run to the trashy paddock wherein it clearly longs to frolick.