From runner to Rivals: Director Dee Koppang O’Leary on filming the Disney+ Jilly Cooper adaptation and breaking into filmmaking

From runner to Rivals: Director Dee Koppang O’Leary on filming the Disney+ Jilly Cooper adaptation and breaking into filmmaking


By Michael Pickard
November 9, 2026

The Director’s Chair

As Rivals returns for the conclusion of its second season, director Dee Koppang O’Leary tells DQ how she balances the show’s glamour and comedy with a darker turn, and discusses her journey breaking into the television industry and navigating the worlds of reality, entertainment and now drama programming.

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