“Rivals,” the steamy 1980s novel from “Queen of the Bonkbuster” Jilly Cooper is set to be adapted for streamer Disney+.
The eight-part series is set in affluent 1980s England where two powerful men and neigbors – Olympian turned politician Rupert Campbell-Black and television exec Tony Baddingham – have a longstanding rivalry that finally comes to a head.
“As tensions rise and rivalries deepen, there are spilled secrets, forged alliances, and snatched liaisons that draw wives, lovers, colleagues, friends, and families into their battle,” reads the longline.
The series will be produced by Happy Prince Productions, which is part of ITV Studios. Elliot Hegarty (“Ted Lasso”) will lead direct and exec produce episodes 1-3. Eliza Mellor (“The Midwich Cuckoos”) is series producer.
Dominic Treadwell-Collins (“A Very English Scandal”) will exec produce alongside Cooper, Alexander Lamb (“The Bay”), literary agent Felicity Blunt, writer Laura Wade and Lee Mason, director of scripted content for Disney+.
Treadwell-Collins is writing the adaptation alongside Wade (“The Riot Club”) with Sophie Goodhart (“The Baby”), Marek Horn, Mimi Hare & Clare Naylor (“The Accidental Husband”), Dare Aiyegbayo (“The Dumping Ground”), Kefi Chadwick (“Looted”), Tray Agyeman, and Sorcha Kurien Walsh (“The Pink Pill”) in the writers’ room.
“I am so, so excited,” said Cooper. “Throughout my childhood, my favourite word was ‘Disney’, and by a miraculous coincidence, greater-than-ever Disney are joining forces with an utterly brilliant drama company, Happy Prince, to turn my novel into a TV series. I know they will bring the boardroom battles and love triangles of my characters to life – particularly those of my devastatingly handsome hero. I cannot wait to see who will be stepping into his shoes…let the hunt for our Rupert Campbell-Black commence!”
Mason said: “The combination of Jilly Cooper and Disney+ is delightfully unexpected. We were thrilled when Dominic brought us these iconic books, and we leapt at the chance to bring them to life. We can’t wait to welcome Rupert Campbell-Black and the residents of Rutshire to the platform.”
Treadwell-Collins added: “I have been wooing Jilly Cooper since I first started working in television. Jilly’s iconic novels’ razor-sharp observations on class, sex, love and what it means to be British resonate even more today than when Jilly wrote them in the 1980s. I’m so excited to bring ‘Rivals’ to the screen, entertain fans of the beloved Cooperverse and introduce a whole new generation to the sweeping love stories, social satire and biting wit of Rutshire.”
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