Rivals season 2 first 3 episodes are now streaming on Hulu and Disney+ — but disappointing delay on season's second half will be justified with an 'unexpected plot twist'
Writer says to keep an eye out for the end of episode 6
If you're watching the premiere of Rivals season 2 on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (international) this weekend and are wondering when the remaining episodes will air, I have bad news.
For the next three weeks, episodes 4-6 will air on a weekly basis — but the outstanding six episodes of season 2 won't drop until "later in the year." At the time of writing, we've got no idea when exactly that might be.
As someone who naively assumed that all 12 episodes of Rivals season 2 would be released at the same time (like season 1), the news is a gut-punch of a disappointment.
But after speaking to writer Laura Wade, not only is the reason for the split a mind-melter, but a big "plot twist" could be worst the impending delay.
'People are going to be arguing about what happens next in a very good way'
"12 episodes is a lot for people to enjoy," Wade begins. "I think that we partly wanted to drag out that enjoyment a little bit. But also from a practical point of view, it takes a long time to deliver 12 very complicated period pieces of drama.
"Do we just release the first six and crack on with finishing the second six, which is what we're doing right now? Or do we wait, an extra six months of release for 12? We didn't want to wait. Also, we've got the FIFA World Cup coming up, so we're releasing the first half before the football. Get that out of the way, and then release the second half."
Never in month of Sundays did I think I'd be writing about Rivals and football in the same sentence, but there we go. Thinking about it, it makes complete sense — both Hulu and Disney+ will be streaming matches thanks to ESPN+ getting the rights, so be prepared for a smorgasbord of sports content overtaking your accounts.
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"There's something lovely about the first half of the series having spring-like stuff, then the second half having autumnal vibes," Wade continues. "On screen, it runs into Christmas, which allows us to sort of parcel it out for everybody to savour the story.
"We've got some really huge story moments coming up later in the series and it'd be lovely for those bits of story to just have a moment to sink in with viewers, building up some anticipation. There's a massive plot twist at the end of episode six. I think that's when we break off for four or five months. But I think that will keep people thinking, talking, and arguing about what's going to happen next... in a very good way."
The anticipation is almost killing me, but Wade's estimates but the second batch of Rivals episodes around October-November time. Let's see if we find out a confirmed release date by the time episode 6 drops on June 5.
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Jasmine is a Streaming Staff Writer for TechRadar, previously writing for outlets including Radio Times, Yahoo! and Stylist. She specialises in comfort TV shows and movies, ranging from Hallmark's latest tearjerker to Netflix's Virgin River. She's also the person who wrote an obituary for George Cooper Sr. during Young Sheldon Season 7 and still can't watch the funeral episode.
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