Rivals is returning for a third season of romance, rivalries and rekindled love affairs, according to Disney+ who has confirmed news that it will be back.
The announcement comes before the second instalment has even wrapped, with the mid-season finale airing earlier this month.
Fans were gutted when they found out they had to wait until November for the second half of season 2 to drop.
But now, they’re excited again, as the Hulu Original series starring David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Aidan Turner and Katherine Parkinson has already been greenlit for season 3.
More specifically, fans are excited for what they think will happen between two of the yearning protagonists.
Some of those responding to Disney+’s announcement on X, featuring an appropriately tense picture of Rupert Campbell-Black [Alex Hassell] and Taggie O’Hara [Bella Maclean], think they can hear wedding bells for the pair – and that it’s got all the ingredients to be a gloriously messy affair.
Throughout seasons one and two, they have been tantalisingly close, but rarely touched.
Nonetheless, their sexual tension has been constantly palpable and viewers are desperate to see it all come to a head.
Abi on X exclaimed: ‘Rutag [Rupert and Taggie] wedding season let’s f***ing gooooo!’
Another, with the handle @always_t1red_ responded: ‘Sooooo first ep Rupert and Taggie wedding day? I will not survive this I fear.’
Despite his obvious adoration for Taggie, Rupert has had various lovers in the Jilly Cooper adaptation including Beattie Johnson [Annabel Scholey], Sarah Stratton [Emily Atack] and Cameron Cook [Nafessa Williams] – not to mention the string of other affairs he’s told to have had.
With the aforementioned women still part of the plot, and his ex-wife too, @KhimPawich is excited about the prospect of a wedding where they’re all in attendance.
She wrote on X: ‘Better have Rutag wedding with all the messy people in Rutshire in it, that’s gonna be fun!! (I mean all the women that Rupert has been with coming, too! That’s wildly messier.)’
Although we don’t know exactly what executive producers Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Alexander Lamb, Laura Wade and Felicity Blunt have in store, Disney+ has teased us with a short synopsis of what we might be able to expect: ‘As the dust settles post the scandalous revelations in Season Two, we see the stakes become higher and the alliances more fragile, with nothing staying buried for long.
‘New romances blossom, old flames rekindle and shocking secrets will be spilled in this third series which takes everyone’s favourite rivalries to the next level.
‘In a world of power, passion and betrayal, everyone has something to lose.’
Treadwell-Collins also said: ‘We’ve been delighted and overwhelmed by the audience’s response to season two of Rivals – testament to the hard work from everyone working on Rivals both on and off screen.
‘Our one sadness is that Jilly didn’t get to witness the love for season two. But she’s still very much with us in spirit and would be so delighted that season three has been green lit.
‘We’re so thrilled to continue to work with Disney as we dive deeper into the Rutshire Chronicles and expand the Cooperverse even further.’
Jilly Cooper died while season two was being filmed, but those involved have been keen to honour her throughout the show.
The series is based on the novel with the same name, which is part of the late author’s best-selling Rutshire Chronicles.
Rivals is available to stream on Disney+.