According to The Hollywood Reporter interview with Dominic Treadwill-Collins (A Very English Scandal, EastEnders), the Disney+ series Rivals attempted to appeal to the US audience after the series was beloved by the UK. Treadmill-Collins spoke about how the show has a “Bridget Jones tone” and understands how Americans are obsessed with British media. He hopes the show will stand out to the northern viewers as it is “a more modern Downtown [Abbey] that’s filthy and more cut throat.”

Rivals is an adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s (The Man Who Made Husbands’ Jealous, Pride and Prejudice Revisited) novel that takes place in the 1980’s fictional county of Rutshire about the Baddingham’s Corinium independent commercial television station. Rivals debuted on Hulu in the US in October and has already been renewed. The drama series focuses on MP Rupert Campbell Black, played by Alex Hassell (The Tragedy of Macbeth, Violent Night), and his feud with Tony Baddingham, played by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).

Treadmill-Collins stated in the THR interview that Cooper had a final say on the characters and the direction of the show as he wanted the most authentic adaptation possible.He also revealed he had wanted to adapt the novel for a really long time, and mentioned how he was ridiculed for this. Additionally, he mentioned the two reasons why he started with the book: the love story between Rupert and Declan “Taggie” O’Hara, portrayed by Bella Maclean (Sex Education, Silent Witness), and by Aidan Turner (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Fifteen-Love), respectively. He finds lots of similarities between Declan and his own personal life.

The Hollywood Reporter stated that the showrunner is changing the fan base from a novel beloved by women to now being watched by families or groups of people together. It is also appealing to young people from the states.

With this knowledge in mind, Treadwill-Collins is working harder to make season two memorable.

“Of course, I’ve got the ghost of season one on my shoulders,”he confesses to THR. “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.”

Season one of Rivals is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.