Renewing Rivals season 3 was the only right decision for the hit series, but Hulu and Disney+ fans have forgotten what important details will be missing

Rivals has been renewed for season 3 by Hulu and Disney+
12 new episodes are confirmed some time after the second half of season 2 airs in November 2026.
It will be the first series without the involvement of author Dame Jilly Cooper following her death in 2025.

We’ll pretend to be surprised, but it’s official that Rivals Season 3 will take place after the renewal confirmation of Hulu and Disney+.

While no release date or window has been confirmed, we do know that 12 new episodes have been commissioned to air sometime after the second half of season 2 arrives in November 2026.

Lee Mason, vice president of scripted at Disney+ EMEA, said in a statement: “The phenomenal response to Rivals is a credit to the bold, irreverent and endlessly entertaining world created by Dame Jilly Cooper, our cast, creative team and production partners on Happy Prince.

Opinion: Season 3 of Rivals will be the first without the contribution of Jilly Cooper, and that is worrying

Monica tugs on the lapel of Tony's jacket.

(Image credit: Hulu/Disney)

I may be stating the obvious, but Rivals The third series will mark the first installment of the hit television show following the death of its creator, Dame Jilly Cooper. Before her death in November 2025, the author had approved the scripts for all 12 episodes of season 2 and continued giving notes until a few days before.

“Jilly signed all the scripts for all 12 and was also on set for a lot of production,” executive producer Alexander Lamb told TechRadar ahead of the release of season 2. “So it seems like this show totally has Jilly’s seal of approval. She’s an executive producer, which she’s credited for, and she was giving me notes on Thursday before she died in episode 12.

“Her fingerprints are all over this series, and we also sat down with her and talked about Season 3 and the future, about shaping the other books.” Rivals. We have His blessing on things. We have his written notes. She is always with us.”

Still, one could argue that Rivals as a television series has already strayed too far from Cooper’s core concept, with the death of Monica Baddingham (Claire Rushbrook) in season 2, episode 6 dividing fan opinion.

Until we know what season 2 part 2 will bring, it’s unknown exactly what Rivals Season 3 will adapt.

However, any new episode is likely to include even more references to Cooper’s broader work, with characters from Pole and The man who made husbands jealous already appearing.