Everything We Know About Heated Rivalry Season 2

Welcome to Team Hollanov! You've caught the Heated Rivalry bug, and now you're desperate for more face-offs between Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). Luckily, Season 2 of Crave and HBO Max's breakout hit Canadian series is on its way. The bad news: It won't arrive until 2027. But good things come to those who wait — and now you'll have all the time in the world to watch every episode again (and again and again), including that beloved penultimate hour and the bliss-filled finale, to your heart's content. 

Heated Rivalry shot out of a cannon when it premiered Nov. 28, 2025, becoming an instant streaming sensation to the surprise of many. Created by Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Shoresy), the saucy queer romantic drama takes its name and inspiration from the second novel in Rachel Reid's bestselling Game Changers series. It follows two rival hockey superstars, Canada's Shane Hollander and Russia's Ilya Rozanov, as they begin a steamy forbidden romance amid their rising popularity and stardom. Over the course of a decade, the two meet in secret and engage in an illicit, passionate love affair. 

Heated Rivalry has largely stayed faithful to the source material, one of the major reasons why everyone, including moms and hockey dudes, is thirsting over every moment. "If you've read a lot of romance novels, what stands out about Shane and Ilya is that their story is not the norm," Tierney told podcaster Evan Ross Katz. "One of the things that [the romance] genre doesn't get is taken seriously, and I think this relationship, not only do I think it can sustain six hours, I think it wants it… It's asking for it." With anticipation for Season 2 of Heated Rivalry reaching peak levels now that filming on Season 2 has started, here is everything to know about when it may premiere, where to watch, potential storylines, new characters, and much more. 

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Heated Rivalry latest news

Over the past several weeks, there has been a flurry of casting news with production well underway on Season 2. On Sept. 16, the latest announcement arrived with the reveal of six new characters: Brendan Morgan (The Handmaid's Tale) as Zane Boodram, David Tomlinson (Fellow Travelers) as Cody Kent, Gerry Dee (Animal Control) as Coach Cooper, Michelle Mylett (Letterkenny) as Lisa, Lauren Chan (The Devil Wears Prada 2) as Gen, and Nick Stahl (Let the Right One In) as Curtis Barrett. In Reid's books, Tomlinson's character was originally named Dallas Kent; in the show, he has been renamed Cody. 

Additionally, on Sept. 3, Crave announced that Kevin Zegers (The Madison), Paul Gross (Good Night and Good Luck), and Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) were joining the ensemble. Zegers will play rookie Ottawa head coach Brandon Wiebe, Gross will portray hockey commissioner Roger Crowell, and Jovovich will step into the shoes of therapist Dr. Galina Molchalina. 

Two days prior, some Season 1 fan favorites were confirmed to be returning for the new season, including Sophie Nélisse as Rose, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana, François Arnaud as Scott Hunter, Christina Chang as Yuna Hollander, Dylan Walsh as David Hollander, and Robbie G.K. as Kip Grady.

And if that wasn't enough news to get you excited, on Aug. 25, actors Daniel Diemer (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) and Shaheen Jafargholi (The Agency) were revealed to be playing Ryan Price and Fabian Salah, respectively. Their characters are the main couple of Tough Guy, the third book in the Game Changers series.

During a fireside chat at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 17, Hudson Williams admitted it was "surreal" slipping back into Shane Hollander's skin now that expectations were higher. "I was doing the scene and there [were] some extras, who were clearly fans, and they're just so perky. I was like, 'Oh god. Oh god, am I doing a Shane impression?'" he said of those early days back on set. Luckily, he found his footing, which he credited to Tierney's efforts to make the set feel as intimate as it was in Season 1. 

Williams dropped a small tease for Season 2, which revolves around the Heated Rivalry sequel, The Long Game. "It's a sad book," he said. "If Season 1 [and] Book 1 is the yearning season, Book 2 is external adversity and [relationship] communication problems that feel very real and human."

When does Heated Rivalry Season 2 premiere?

Though Tierney said in a late February 2026 interview that Season 2 is expected to premiere in April 2027 (watch the YouTube video below), Crave has officially slated it for a spring 2027 release. (Season 1 aired simultaneously on Crave and HBO Max.) While we wait for an exact date, you can rewatch all the hockey magic by streaming the entire first season on HBO Max stateside and preorder I'll Believe in Anything, Tierney's 384-page book about the making of Season 1 with annotated scripts (out Oct. 13).

Season 2 may be split in half, according to creator Jacob Tierney. "There's a lot of material," he said in an interview with Deadline published April 8, referring to the fact that the book Season 2 will be based on, The Long Game, is the longest in the six-book Game Changers series. 

But the length of the book may not actually be the primary factor that determines whether the adaptation of The Long Game is split into two or more seasons. While there are six books in this series, only two of them (so far) are actually about Ilya and Shane specifically. Once they finish the story covered in The Long Game, they'll be out of existing material. Fortunately, author Rachel Reid recently announced that she's working on another Ilya and Shane book that will take their story to what already sounds like its most interesting chapter — we discuss those details in depth further down in this article, below the spoiler warning.

Is there a trailer for Heated Rivalry Season 2?

Not yet. Don't worry; we'll add teasers and trailers here the second they're released.

Is Heated Rivalry based on a book?

Heated Rivalry is inspired by a popular six-book hockey romance series, Game Changers, by Canadian author Rachel Reid. The second novel, which was published in 2019 and from which the Crave/HBO Max romantic drama takes its name, is all about Shane and Ilya's secret enemies-to-lovers relationship. Their story continues in the sixth book, 2022's The Long Game, and follows Shane and Ilya as they're forced to choose between their relationship and their illustrious hockey careers. You can check out the entire .

But that book won't be the end of their story, apparently. A few weeks after the Season 1 finale, Reid announced a seventh Game Changers book that will be a direct sequel to The Long Game. 

Reid's plot synopsis for the upcoming book is actually a spoiler for Season 2 of the show, so if that's a concern for you, you may want to exit here.

The upcoming book, Unrivaled, which can be preordered on Amazon, will show what life is like for Shane and Ilya after they go public with their relationship, get married, and play together on the same team.

"They've gotten a lot of love from fans who are thrilled for them. But some people in the hockey world are still reeling from their relationship reveal, and the backlash — led by popular hockey podcast Top Shelf and the #TakeBackHockey movement — is getting louder. Ilya and Shane are finally able to stand together in the light, the way they'd always wanted. And now they might be facing their biggest challenge yet."

In a lengthy interview with Deadline, Tierney talked about his and co-writer Michael Goldbach's overall approach to telling this story: 

"We're continuing to take this relationship on a journey that will end happily, but along the way is full of ups and downs and realizing loads of sh-- about yourself, about your partner and about how you want to live and what it means to live as a queer couple in the world and what you want out of your privacy and your public life," Tierney said. 

"We're just continuing to give Shane and Ilya the seriousness that this love affair deserves while also continuing to exist within the confines of the genre that we're in, which I love. I want them to be happy, but I also want to show that that's not easy. Because part of what Rachel does so brilliantly in her writing is to give queerness joy, but also not pretend the world isn't the world. It's not like she created this world where it's like, there's no homophobia and hockey's amazing, and anyone can come out. No. She shows it's difficult, takes courage, guts, and sacrifice, and takes stepping up and saying things with your full chest. And that to me is a triumph. That's what we're trying to do here."  

As is typical in the romance genre, the other books in the Game Changers series are about different couples who exist in the same hockey world as Shane and Ilya. The first book, Game Changer, focuses on Scott Hunter and Kip Grady (who were the focus of Season 1's third epsiode); book three, Tough Guy, centers on Ryan Price and Fabian Salah; book four, Common Goal, revolves around Eric Bennett and Kyle Swift; and book five, Role Model, is about Troy Barrett and Harris Drover. Many of the characters weave in and out throughout the other novels. Some have already been mentioned or appear in the Heated Rivalry television series.

What happens at the end of Season 1?

The picture starts to become clearer for Shane and Ilya in the final two episodes of Season 1. In the penultimate hour, "I'll Believe in Anything," Shane and Ilya see a glimmer of hope for their future after witnessing Scott Hunter make a grand romantic gesture by kissing Kip at the Finals and coming out to the world. The inspiring moment gives Ilya the strength to call Shane and take a giant leap of faith when he makes the decision to go to the cottage for the summer instead of returning to Russia.

The finale opens with Scott's touching MVP speech where he thanks Kip for being in his life. The episode cuts to Shane picking Ilya up at the airport and the pair nervously anticipating their cottage getaway. More a rustic lakeside mansion, the cottage represents years of clandestine hookups, emotional turmoil, and identity crises coming to a head — though Shane and Ilya aren't out of the woods yet. They're, for all intents and purposes, still closeted to the world but no longer private about their feelings for each other (and to a trusted few in their inner circle).

For two weeks, Shane and Ilya — thanks to the privacy provided by the cottage's leafy surroundings — experience what life would be like cohabitating in domestic bliss, enjoying each other's company (and having lots of sex) without fear of prying eyes. Shane made sure of it, telling his parents he's on a "silent retreat." After Shane and Ilya learn that they haven't been with anyone since their last hookup months earlier, they promise to be honest with each other about what they think and how they really feel. It gives them permission to talk about deeper things, like their hockey futures (Ilya wants to sign with a Canadian team when he's a free agent next season), marriage plans (Shane tells Ilya not to marry Svetlana when the topic of Canadian citizenship comes up), and their families (Ilya opens up about his mother's suicide when he was 12). 

It also gives them the opportunity to look ahead. Always the habitual overthinker, Shane comes up with the perfect scenario: Ilya could play for Ottawa, a team in desperate need for a star center that could actually afford him — and he would only be two hours away. They would soft-launch their friendship and start a foundation in honor of Irina, Ilya's late mother — a real charity benefiting mental health and suicide prevention — that would allow them to be seen together in public so "it wouldn't be so f---ing crazy" to people, Shane explains. Then, when they both retire, they could be together for real. When Ilya asks if that's what he truly wants, Shane vulnerably admits, "So much… So much it scares me."

Shane's admission leads Ilya to be overcome with emotion. And for the first time (or second, if you count his Russian phone confession), Ilya tells Shane he loves him. It takes Shane a second to process before responding with his own "I love you too." But reality strikes at the most unexpected times. Their cottage bubble bursts when Shane's father arrives unannounced to retrieve a misplaced phone charger and witnesses Shane and Ilya kissing by the lake. 

They hurry over to Shane's parents' house to do damage control — and an anxiety-ridden Shane comes out to his mom and dad, though it's not how he thought it would go in his head. (It's an endearingly bungled mess, especially after Ilya uses the word "lovers" to describe his relationship with Shane.) The surprise for Shane's parents isn't that he's gay (they had a feeling for some time), but rather how long he's been involved with Ilya — dating back to the summer before rookie year. It's a lot to process: Are they going to keep their romance a secret? (Probably.) Do any of their teammates know? (No.) Do they plan on coming out? (Not at this time.) Are they in love? (Very much so.) 

Amid all of this, Shane and his mother have one of the series' most significant heart-to-hearts. Shane apologizes for failing to be the perfect son, and she stops him from going any further, expressing regret that she didn't provide a safety net for him to come to her in the first place. "Will you forgive me?" his mom asks, before Shane cries into her shoulder: "I forgive you." 

They allow themselves a brief moment of calm before diving into planning for the future. It all becomes a bit too much for Shane, who has an anxiety attack after his parents mention Scott Hunter's name. Fortunately for Shane, he has Ilya, who calms him down the only way he can. Shane's family is there and his boyfriend too, Ilya says, and because of that, everything will work out. Shane's ears perk up when Ilya refers to himself as his boyfriend and their kiss is the first time Shane's parents see their love in action. They're really doing this. 

The season ends on a joyful note, with Shane and Ilya back in the Land Rover, a significant weight lifted off their shoulders as they drive off into the sunset — literally. (Williams shared that he and Storrie ad-libbed their dialogue in the car as the end credits rolled: "We said a lot of things like, 'I can't believe we've done this'" and "a lot of 'I love you's.") The show's ending is also different from the book, where the pair announce their charity at a press conference. "What I remember so clearly was just this feeling of oh, they get to be in love. That's all that I wanted was the simplicity of that, of just letting them have a [moment]," Tierney told The Hollywood Reporter of the change. "They say it at the beginning, [but] they never get a moment. Just letting them drive together with [Ilya's] hand on [Shane's] neck and just being sweet. That's enough for me."

While there are plenty of questions about what their future looks like and how they will move forward together, what is certain is the happiness they've found in each other — and for now, that's enough. 

What will happen with Shane and Ilya in Heated RIvalry Season 2?

No official storyline details have been provided for Season 2 (it's a little too early for that), but there is a road map for what's coming. Tierney confirmed to Collider in Dec. 2025 that The Long Game, the sixth book in the series, "will be the foundational document" for the new season and that "it's broad strokes at this point" in the planning process. "I've had a sense for a while of what I wanted to do," he said, "details to be sorted out." (Just don't expect Shane to have a man bun like he does in the book: "I'll throw up in my mouth," Williams told Harper's Bazaar.)

It's also not a secret how Shane and Ilya's story unfolds. "It doesn't matter if [people] know what's coming because if you do any amount of Googling, you're going to find out how the f---ing show ends. It's the journey," Tierney told Gold Derby. But he insinuated that Season 2 "will end up feeling different because it's a more focused book [and] it takes place over a shorter amount of time."

Now that Shane's parents know (and approve!) of their relationship, the groundwork has been laid for the next chapter in Shane and Ilya's lives — both on and off the ice. We can presume that Ilya will sign with Ottawa, though how that happens remains a mystery. We can also safely assume that the foundation Shane and Ilya discuss in the finale will become a real thing. It's pretty clear they're in this for the long haul, which means the idea of marriage — and how they go about taking the necessary steps to get Ilya closer to obtaining a Canadian passport — is on the horizon.

Heavier themes are covered in The Long Game, and Tierney indicated that he intends to stay faithful to the darker places that Shane and Ilya go. "[Reid] takes them seriously in the second book. She's like, 'This is a real relationship and real relationships come with struggle.' It's so compelling," he said. "I think part of that is there's definitely an element of sadness to what's coming, of loneliness and of isolation. Of Ilya learning a lot about himself, and Shane learning a lot about himself too." One particular development Tierney is looking forward to exploring is seeing Ilya in therapy.

That also means that sex "functions differently" in Season 2 for Shane and Ilya. "That doesn't mean there's no sex. There's quite a bit of sex in The Long Game," Tierney told Variety. "Sex will always be a big part of it, like it is with any romantic relationship. But it's really about continuing that progress of what happens after that first blush of love, what happens after you decide you're in love and how do you sustain it?"

If you're curious what The Long Game is about, here's the official book synopsis:

"To the world they are rivals, but to each other they are everything. Ten years. That's how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they've been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family … from the league. 

If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything? 

Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship … Ilya wants it all. It's time for them to decide what's most important — hockey or love. It's time to make a call."

Who's in the Heated Rivalry Season 2 cast? Will new characters be introduced?

Yes, new characters will be introduced — and plenty of them! While our favorite hockey studs, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, will be the main focus of Season 2, we will meet Harris Drover (Justice Smith) and Troy Barrett (Charlie Gillespie), the main couple from Role Model, and spend significant time with them. Because Harris and Troy's story is rooted in Ottawa (and is intertwined with events from The Long Game), it's more than likely Ilya will find himself playing for the Canadian team since that was the direction the Season 1 finale pointed toward. 

Other prominent characters from the books will also be introduced in Season 2: Ryan Price, a defenseman for Toronto; Fabian Salah, a Toronto-based musician and Ryan's childhood friend; Cody Kent (renamed from Dallas Kent), Toronto's star center accused of sexual assault; Dr. Galina Molchalina, Ilya's therapist; Wyatt Hayes, the goaltender for Ottawa; Luca Haas, a rookie who plays wing for Ottawa; Vanessa, a feminist lesbian who works at a sex shop; Farah Jalali, a sports agent; and Tarek, Vanessa's roommate and immigration assistant.

But don't worry, Hollanov fans, " Heated Rivalry, as a show, will always be focused around Shane and Ilya," Tierney said, calling them the "heartbeat." Characters like Scott Hunter and Kip Grady "will continue to intersect with them on occasion," he revealed.

Because Season 2 will take its cue from The Long Game and now Role Model and Tough Guy, more characters from the Game Changers book series are entering the Heated Rivalry universe. In Season 1's fourth episode, Shane and Ilya discuss Ryan Price, a main character in the third book Tough Guy, whom they say gets traded every season. However, Ilya reveals that Ryan isn't as tough as he seems — alluding to the character's internal struggles with anxiety and body image issues — leaving room for more exploration in Season 2. And in the third episode, we briefly meet Kyle Swift (played by Matthew Finlan), the bartender at Kingfisher, whose story is featured in the fourth book Common Goal.

Here's who is returning to Heated Rivalry Season 2:

• Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander, captain of the Montreal Metros
• Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov, captain of the Boston Raiders
• François Arnaud as Scott Hunter, captain of the New York Admirals
• Robbie G.K. as Christopher "Kip" Grady, a smoothie shop barista
• Christina Chang as Yuna Hollander, Shane's mother
• Dylan Baker as David Hollander, Shane's father
• Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana, Ilya's best friend and occasional hookup 
• Sophie Nélisse as Rose Landry, an actress who Shane dates
• Callan Potter as Hayden Pike, Shane's teammate
• Benjamin Roy as Jean-Jacques "J.J." Boiziau, Shane's teammate
• Kamilla Kowal as Jackie, Hayden Pike's wife 

Here are all the newest Season 2 cast additions:

• Justice Smith as Harris Drover 
• Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett
• Emily Hampshire as Vanessa
• Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas
• Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes
• Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali
• Priyanka as Tarek
• Daniel Diemer as Ryan Price
• Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah
• Kevin Zegers as Coach Brandon Wiebe
• Paul Gross as Commissioner Roger Crowell
• Milla Jovovich as Dr. Galina Molchalina
• Brendan Morgan as Zane Boodram
• David Tomlinson as Cody Kent
• Gerry Dee as Coach Cooper 
• Michelle Mylett as Lisa
• Lauren Chan as Gen
• Nick Stahl as Curtis Barrett 

Who are Heated Rivalry's Harris and Troy? What is Role Model about?

We don't know how closely Tierney will be adhering to the book versions of Harris and Troy, but Reid's source material does provide clues for the TV versions played by Smith and Gillespie. 

In Role Model, Harris is a bubbly social media manager for the league's worst team, the Ottawa Centaurs, of which he's been a lifelong fan. He's described as stocky and pudgy with a bit of a belly, and has a heart condition that restricted him from playing hockey as a child. Loved by the players, Harris is proudly out and he's also the adoptive owner of Chiron, the Centaurs' team dog.

Troy is the complete opposite. In the book, he's a closeted hockey pro who is abruptly traded away by the Toronto Guardians after a heated confrontation with Dallas Kent — the team's star center and his close friend — following sexual assault allegations from several women that go public. Described as looking "more like a pop star than a hockey player," Troy struggles to adjust to his new team, the Centaurs, after secretly breaking up with his actor boyfriend and navigating the fallout from his viral fight with his ex-teammate.

While excitement over Smith and Gillespie has been palpable online, there has already been some criticism, notably around Smith's casting as Harris. Smith acknowledged the mixed reaction in an Aug. 9 Instagram story, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter: "I have to say I am moved by the support and love I'm getting from fans in my DMs, fans who have welcomed me with open arms and who already feel a responsibility to protect me. I am honored to play a character you all care about deeply and I promise I will take good care of him if you give me the chance. I am beyond excited for this experience." 

Reid stood by the casting choices, writing via an Instagram story on Aug. 7, "Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for Ilya and Shane was wrong and bad…"

If you want to familiarize yourself with the plot of Role Model, here's the official book synopsis:

"The hits just keep coming for Troy Barrett. Traded to the worst team in the league would be bad enough, but coming on the heels of a messy breakup and a recent scandal… Troy just wants to play hockey and be left alone. He doesn't want to be in the news anymore, and he definitely doesn't want to "work on his online presence" with the team's peppy social media manager.

Harris Drover can tell standoffish Troy isn't happy about the trade — anyone could tell, frankly, as he doesn't exactly hide it well — but Harris doesn't give up on people easily. Even when he's developing a crush he's sure is one-sided. And when he sees Troy's smile finally crack through his grumpy exterior, well… That's a man Harris couldn't turn his back on if he wanted to.

Suddenly, Troy's move to the new team feels like an opportunity — for Troy to embrace his true self, and for both men to surrender to their growing attraction. But indulging in each other behind closed doors is one thing, and for Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all."

Shows like Heated Rivalry to watch next 

While you wait for more Heated Rivalry to arrive on your screens, there are plenty of queer romances and sports dramas to check out. Here's a list of shows like Heated Rivalry for you to watch. 

Where to watch Heated Rivalry

Heated Rivalry is available to stream on HBO Max.