Lee Mason Backs Rivals Disney Plus Season 3 With 12 Episodes
Disney+ has renewed rivals disney plus season 3, and Lee Mason says the streamer is bringing audiences back for a 12-episode run before Season 2 has finished its rollout. The move lands while the series is already one of Disney+'s strongest European originals, with its first six Season 2 episodes driving its biggest EMEA original premiere in the UK and Ireland.
“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 at Happy Prince. We’re delighted to be bringing audiences a third season on Disney+/Hulu. Expect more ambition, more romance, more rivalries and, of course, more scandal as we return to Rutshire for another irresistible chapter.”
Lee Mason and Disney+
Lee Mason, VP Scripted at Disney+ EMEA, said the response justified the decision to keep the series moving, and the third season is already set at 12 episodes. That gives Disney+ a longer runway on a title that stars David Tennant, Aidan Turner and Danny Dyer, while also extending a franchise the company has used to build its European original slate.
The platform has also positioned Rivals across two services: it airs on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ elsewhere in the stack named in the announcement. For viewers, that means the series is not being treated as a one-off hit; it is being scheduled as a continuing asset with a defined episode order rather than a short follow-up.
November on Disney+
Disney+ said the final six Season 2 episodes will arrive in November, so the renewal lands before the current season has completed its release pattern. That is the main tell here: the streamer is committing to the next chapter while the present one is still in flight.
Season 2 already brought in Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett, and it drew solid ratings and strong reviews. Those numbers do not just flatter the show; they help explain why Disney+ is willing to keep spending on a return to Rutshire instead of waiting for a full-season endpoint.
Jilly Cooper's Rutshire
Rivals is based on Jilly Cooper's novel and sits inside her Rutshire Chronicles, which gives the adaptation a built-in library identity rather than a standalone title. Cooper died during filming of Season 2, so the third season now continues without the author seeing the finished run that helped secure it.
The practical takeaway for viewers is simple: Season 3 is already in motion, Season 2 still has six episodes left, and Disney+ is treating the show as one of its biggest European originals rather than a limited burst. In this market, that kind of early renewal usually means the streamer sees enough demand to keep the property on the schedule and in circulation.
