Rivals Season 1

What’s it about?

Set in the 1980s in the fictional English county of Rutshire, an MP, a journalist, and a mogul butt heads professionally and personally, fighting for the rights to operate a regional television franchise.

The facts 

• Directed by Elliot Hegarty, Dee Koppang O’Leary, and Alexandra Brodski
• English language
• Runtime: 8 episodes, each about 55 minutes
• Based on the “bonkbuster” Rutshire Chronicles by Dame Jilly Cooper

Why did it get this rating? 

This show was self-rated by Disney+. You can find out more about self-rating here.

The following information breaks down the series’ rating and content warnings. It does not mention any character names or delve into plot points. If necessary, we occasionally include minor spoilers to help keep audiences informed about what they are watching, especially when it comes to content that involves sexual assault or rape.

Rape

In episode 5, a woman is raped by a man (her boss’ client) while on their way to her workplace. The rape scene is undetailed, but the camera focuses on the woman’s face, showing her pain and fear. The scene is likely to be distressing for viewers. The woman’s boss later coldly dismisses her account, asking if she ‘led on’ the client as she’s ‘such a friendly girl’.

Sex scenes, sexual references and nudity

There are frequent and frank sex scenes, and numerous sexual references throughout the season. We see thrusting, hear moaning, and the camera often lingers on the characters’ sensual expressions. Background music heightens the impact of these scenes. Characters are often nude during sex. We see breasts and bums, but no genitalia.

One scene includes non-sexualised nudity where a man and a woman play tennis in the nude. We briefly see the man’s flaccid penis.

Violence

A man strikes a woman across the face after threatening her career. They wrestle and she hits the man in the head with a trophy. He collapses and we see blood pool around his head.

A man punches another older man (a rapist) in the face on live television.

A man shatters the glass windows in his boss’ office with a golf club.

Discrimination

Jokes are made at the expense of women, African Americans, and homosexuals, hinting at how these groups were typically treated in the 1980s. The narrative softly condemns such discrimination overall.

Offensive language

We regularly hear words like “f*ck” (and its derivatives), “sh*t”, and “c*nt”, sometimes used aggressively.

Helplines

The rape scene in this show could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen, please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information 

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Rivals Season 2