Aidan Turner: 'Rivals' TV revolution mirrors that of today

The Hobbit and Poldark alum Aidan Turner says he wanted to play fictional Irish journalist Declan O'Hara in the new Hulu dramedy, Rivals, because he represents the mavericks who upended the British television news industry of the 1980s.

The eight-episode adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel premieres Friday.

It co-stars Doctor Who icon David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham, head of the independent network that financially seduces Declan into moving from hard news to infotainment.

"He sees himself as quite a serious journalist," Turner, 41, told UPI about Declan in a recent Zoom interview.

"He's all about garnering people's respect .... He manages to find himself on television, but not anchoring the show that he used to anchor, which was a kind of a serious, stuffy, long-form BBC political interview show," he added.

"Now, he's on a chat show interviewing celebrities and all sorts of different people and he's kind of losing that integrity that he certainly imagined he had."

Rivals viewers in 2024 -- accustomed to 24/7 news stations, podcasts, true-crime docu-series and social media -- might recognize the excitement and anxiety that comes with a shifting information landscape as it is depicted on the show.

"Declan talks about the importance of television and what it does," Turner said.

"We used to tell stories around the fireplace. We'd pull the chairs around. We'd gather and we'd each share a story, and it doesn't matter if we've heard it 10 times before, it's what we would do, and Declan talks about how, when the TV was introduced, it took over as the storyteller in the room."

A big difference, however, is that with on-demand cable and streaming services, people don't experience television at the same time anymore, the actor said.

"People are too busy doing their own thing. We don't want to do one episode. If I'm going to sit down and take my time, I'm going to watch four [episodes]," he said. "Things have changed a lot."

Even the way people make films and TV shows has progressed drastically in recent years.

"There are people shooting things now, so when you watch them on your iPhone, they can still be watchable and not look like trash," Turner said.

"It's changing faster than we can sort of keep up with, but I guess it's always felt like that to a degree, certainly in the 1980s and where we are now. It's a revolutionary time in independent television. Things are changing at a fierce pace, so, it does feel like it mirrors today, albeit in an entirely different universe."

Declan's new job causes tremendous upheaval in his personal life, too, since it requires a move to the British countryside for him, his wife, Maud (Victoria Smurfit), and their teen daughters, Taggie (Bella Maclean) and Caitlin (Catriona Chandler).

The longtime Londoners initially not only pleased to find themselves so far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, but they also eventually find quirky and entertaining neighbors to help them amuse themselves.

"He's kind of losing his family, slightly," Turner said of Declan's ultimate decision to make work-life balance a priority.

"The long-suffering Maud has given up her career. She was a very talented actor. She still is," he added. "But she's committed to raising a family and raising their kids, while Declan got to keep working and traveling and doing all the things that he wants to do."

Declan is learning that his career shouldn't be all-consuming at this point in his life.

"There's the dichotomy where he's this workhorse and everything is about work, and that's what he wants to do, but then he has these moments of sort of coming around to realize that he's sort of destroying himself, like the snake that's eating his own tail," Turner said.

"Something so brilliant about this show is that, with all of our characters, we see these stages of growth," he added. "We see this direction that they're all going in. Whether it's somewhere that's destructive or somewhere incredible, they're off on this journey."

Professionally, Declan finds an ally in Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams), a Black female producer at his new TV station.

"What he sees is somebody in this position who doesn't come in there with ego," Turner said.

"It's not about her. It's about the job. It's about getting the best results. That's something he appreciates and respects, because in this world of independent television, in the Cotswalds in 1986, it's quite ruthless," he said.

"There's a lot of people out for themselves. There's a lot of people who want to be on television. And, if they don't want to be in front of the screen, they want to be behind it, and that's equally ruthless.

"So, I think what he sees [in Cameron is] a genuine person who's about the work. He appreciates and responds to her."

Turner said Declan doesn't trust his smooth-talking new boss, Tony, though.

"He's a charmer and you get heady with the lovely things that he so brilliantly says, and he also reaches out. He does Declan a few favors, gets him out of a lot of trouble that was very stressful," Turner said.

"Declan feels in debt to him, also, so it's that funny relationship," he added. "He's something of a grand master chess player, Tony is, but I also think that Declan notices that and is wary of that, so there could be two big personality clashes that happen."