Editor’s Picks: Disney+’s ‘Rivals’ Eats Out the Rich

Frieze Editor’s Picks is a fortnightly column in which a frieze editor shares their recommendations for what to watch, read and listen to.

Rivals (2024)

Set in a world of constantly flowing champagne, abundant sex and horseback riding, Jilly Cooper’s erotic novel Rivals (1988) unapologetically indulges in intrigue and excess. This month, a fiery adaptation by Disney+ has hit our television screens with a bang. The show’s hedonistic aesthetic toys with parody whilst addressing the resentment and power dynamics that accompany social class. Detailing the tumultuous relationship between ruthless television mogul Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), self-assured journalist Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner) and handsome Minister for Sport Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell), the show revels in boundless scandal, infidelity and violence, reassuring viewers of the odious nature of the British upper class during one of the country’s harshest governments, whose policies led to a record rise in socioeconomic inequality.

Rivals’ depiction of the 1980s ventures beyond shoulder pads and thick, sexy moustaches to highlight the darker side of the decade, with references to the growing AIDS epidemic as well as episodes featuring misogyny, xenophobia and sexual assault. Whilst these difficult themes are quickly swept under the rug, their haunting presence reminds us that, despite all the glamour, nothing is as perfect as it seems. Infused with iconic tracks by The Bangles, Depeche Mode and Siouxsie and the Banshees, the show transports us to a simpler time when you could play naked tennis with a fellow MP’s wife on the manicured grounds of your mansion without having to face the pesky consequences of your actions.

Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Monstrilio (2024)

Constituting a tragic-yet-tender blend of horror, magical realism and folklore, Gerardo Sámano Córdova’s Monstrilio is a gripping account of the all-consuming nature of parental grief. When it was originally published in 2023, the novel marked the writer’s debut, and was reissued by Dead Ink Books earlier this year. Ripe with hyper-lyrical language and beautiful-yet-grotesque imagery, the narrative interrogates the boundaries we are prepared to cross in the name of our loved ones. We follow the story of Santiago, the child of Mexican immigrants living in New York, who tragically passes away at the age of 11 due to an underdeveloped lung. In the thralls of despair, his mother, Magos, cuts open her son’s body with surgical precision and removes a piece of the offending organ. Inspired by a folktale, she goes on to feed the lung, which then miraculously springs to life and slowly morphs into a creature that vaguely resembles Santiago but cannot escape its own monstrous nature. Through a series of complex narratives, the novel delves into the heartbreaking aftermath of loss and loneliness whilst also allowing for instances of comedic absurdity, showcasing the diversity of human experience.

Peggy Gou, I Hear You (2024)

Earlier this year, South Korean DJ and singer Peggy Gou released her debut album, I Hear You, treating us to a multilingual, genre-fluid sonic experience. As I listened to her eclectic deep house and dance soundtrack in full towards the end of the summer, I felt a creeping sense of déjà vu. It turned out that Guo’s hypnotic melodies had accompanied me unknowingly throughout the previous couple months: we had travelled together from crowded barbecues through tipsy house parties to sweaty nightclubs. We had even vacationed together, her sultry voice in ‘Back To One’ creeping through a friend’s earbuds on a sunny drive outside of Barcelona.

Guo’s unique style is an amalgam of in-depth references – from 1980s house and 1990s dance music to traditional Korean folksong – performed in a mixture of Korean, Spanish and English. Towards the end of the album, her songs discard their lyrics altogether, focusing solely on their all-consuming beat. Her most famous song, ‘(It Goes Like) Nanana’, feels particularly nostalgic, with its frothy 1990s-style rhythm reminiscent of the European summer hits from my childhood: universally relatable music grounded in the moment. Harking back to our shared generational sentimentality, she sings: ‘I got a feeling that I just / I can’t erase, just a feeling that I won’t / Won’t leave behind, because it’s something that is on / It’s on my mind.’

Rivals is streaming on Disney+ in the UK, Australia, and Europe, and Hulu for the USA 

_{Main image: Rivals, 2024, film still. Courtesy: © Disney}