Television series

Rivals

Name: Rivals
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: 2024
Cast: David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams

Drama

Rivals is a gloriously bitchy 1980s power struggle dressed in shoulder pads and wine-fuelled scheming. Set in the fictional Rutshire, it follows two men locked in escalating combat—one a philandering politician, the other a ruthless TV mogul—as their feud engulfs everyone around them. It's *Dynasty* meets *The Thick of It*: trashy, intelligent, and addictively watchable.

TVMaze rating

3.2

If you liked this

Succession2018

A similar anatomy of male ambition and ego-driven destruction, played with Shakespearean weight. The dialogue is sharper and the stakes feel genuinely dangerous. If you loved watching powerful men implode, this is essential.

But It's darker and more deliberately cruel than Rivals. There's less fun in the destruction—more dread.

The Thick of It2005

British institutional satire with the same wicked energy and quotable venom. It captures workplace toxicity and political scheming with surgical precision and genuine laugh-out-loud moments that land harder.

But It's more bleak and less romantic. The comedy is crueller, with fewer sympathetic characters to root for.

Dynasty1981

The spiritual ancestor of everything Rivals does: glossy, vicious, unapologetically indulgent. If you want the full 1980s soap opera experience with family betrayal and sexual intrigue, this invented the template.

But It's genuinely dated now—the pacing is slower and some of the acting choices feel very much of their time. Patience required.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Rivals

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

A Place in the Sun1951

Both are about men willing to betray everyone close to them to climb socially. Same engine, different decades—one nihilistic, one playful.

Montgomery Clift as a climber destroying everything—and everyone—to escape his working-class origins. It's about ambition and duplicity in a closed social world, shot with real tragedy. A template Rivals echoes without knowing it.

But It's a 1950s Hollywood melodrama that requires adjustment to its pacing and sensibility. The class anxiety reads differently now. Genuinely depressing in ways Rivals avoids.

The Barchester Chronicles1982

A brilliantly witty adaptation of Anthony Trollope's provincial power plays. Like Rivals, it's about ambition and ego in a closed world, but filtered through Victorian England. Perfectly cast and gorgeously shot.

But It moves at a stately pace. If you want immediate gratification and constant plot twists, you'll find yourself restless.

The Fall of the House of Usher2023

A lavish, twisted ensemble where everyone's connected by secrets and mutual destruction. Mike Flanagan orchestrates genuine horror and dark comedy with a stellar cast. Visually stunning and compulsively watchable.

But It's considerably darker and more genuinely disturbing. There's less charm and far more genuine damage. Not a comfort watch.

Bodyguard2018

Another British drama that juggles political intrigue with personal chaos. The tension is relentless, the writing is intelligent, and it moves fast enough to finish in an evening. Addictive without being silly.

But It's a thriller first, which means it takes itself very seriously. There's little humour to break the pressure. Some find the politics implausible.

Dead Ringers2023

Two driven women at war in the male-dominated world of medicine. Rachel Weisz is magnetic playing both roles, the premise is genuinely fresh, and it captures toxic professional rivalry with style and dark humour.

But Only one season exists. If you watch it, you'll want more and won't get it. The ending doesn't resolve as neatly as you might hope.

The Crown2016

Political ambition and institutional power wrapped in royal pageantry. The writing is intelligent and the ensemble work is superb. Season two and three especially capture how ego and duty collide at the highest level.

But It's extremely long. Getting to the juicy stuff requires patience. Some seasons feel more dramatically interesting than others—it's uneven across its run.

Gossip Girl2007

Unrepentant trash about the beautiful and ruthless scheming against each other. It understands melodrama and never apologizes for it. Wildly entertaining and perfectly cast, with genuine surprises buried in the soap.

But It wears its artifice proudly, which some find exhausting rather than fun. The morality gets very muddled—the show sometimes seems unsure what it thinks about its own characters.

Dekalog1989

Both explore how ordinary people's rivalries and secrets ripple through a closed community. One looks outward at soap opera, one looks inward at souls—but the structure is identical: interconnection, consequence, damage spreading.

Ten interconnected short films set in a Warsaw apartment building, each exploring moral and spiritual crises among ordinary people. Kieslowski's formal brilliance and emotional depth are staggering. Not like anything else you'll watch.

But It's Polish, subtitled, and philosophically dense. There's no plot momentum—it's about interiority. If you need narrative propulsion and light entertainment, this will feel like homework.

Veep2012

Same comic register: ambitious people in hierarchies saying vicious things to each other. Rivals has romance and glamour; Veep has none—but the DNA of who these people are is identical.

Armando Iannucci's masterpiece of institutional satire where everyone is self-serving and politics is pure ego management. The insults are Shakespearean, the character work is flawless, and it's genuinely hilarious while being perfectly observed.

But It's American politics obsession. If you don't care about the landscape or the historical references, chunks will pass you by. The humour is very inside-baseball at moments.