INDIANAPOLIS — Before "50 Shades of Grey" and "Bridgerton," there were Dame Jilly Cooper's The Rutshire Chronicles.
"Rivals," the second book in Cooper's series of romantic novels, is being adapted as an eight-episode season streaming on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ internationally.
Set in England in the 1980s, the rivalry between two men (Alex Hassell and David Tennant) takes center stage on a television talk show.
Here is how the supporting actors described their characters:
- Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara: "He's an Irish journalist who moved to London with his wife and two kids. He's taken a contract with somebody he doesn't really like to do a show he's not really excited about, but he needs to pay the bills."
- Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook: "She is fiery, spicy, smart, bold, sexy, sensual, in control, knows exactly what she wants and knows exactly how to get it."
- Bella Maclean as Taggie O'Hara: "She's the heart of the story. She's a very sensitive but pure, young girl. She has a complex relationship with one of the other leads named Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell)."
- Victoria Smurfit as Maud O'Hara: "She is Taggie's mother. She is a terrible mother because she is complicated, emotionally erratic, loves a drink, desperately needs external validation — preferably from men and not always the one she's married to."
- Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker: "She's a novelist and wife of James (Oliver Chris). She is best friends with Rupert (Hassell), and you see her come into her own over the course of the series and fall in love."
- Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones: "He's a self-made billionaire who has found himself in this environment which he's quite uncomfortable with, and some of the elitist characters want his money for investment, and he's reluctant to do that. He's got a kind heart and good soul, and he also finds love."
- Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton: "She's married to Paul Stratton (Rufus Jones), who is a member of parliament. She's considerably younger than him. She's very conniving, very manipulative and uses her sexuality to get what she wants. She's very ambitious and funny, and you get to learn her more vulnerable side as it goes on."
- Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham: "She is upper class and comes from old money. She's secure, traditional, dependable and has a loving, functioning, affectionate marriage to Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant). The whole world of television that is so glorious in this series is of no interest to her. She's at home with her dogs, and she's very content."
It's been 36 years since "Rivals" was published, with virtually everyone in England knowing Cooper's name.
"I feel so honored to be part of something that already exists in this world, this universe of Jilly Cooper and her books," Williams said. "As an actress, coming from America and now being over here, it's just really an honor to give voice to something so iconic and so groundbreaking."
"We're lucky in a lot of ways that there haven't been versions of this because it's just harder to have a definitive version that's taken this long, but we can really make a good show now," Turner said.
"Rivals" is the second of 11 books in The Rutshire Chronicles, with many recurring characters — so additional television adaptations are possible.
"We hope so. We really hope so," Atack said. "Any excuse for us all to get together and have a lovely time."
All eight episodes of "Rivals" will be available to stream Friday, Oct. 18 on Hulu.