Heated Rivalry Season 2: Key Info
– Renewed for Season 2 in December 2025
– Potential bonus episodes ahead of Season 2 have been teased
– The main cast is expected to return
– No trailer or release date announced yet
– Will be based on Rachel Reid’s The long game
– Exciting revelation for future seasons
Heated rivalry season 2 has officially been greenlit for season 2, which is huge news for the violent queer sports drama.
Creator Jacob Tierney’s adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series wasn’t even set to premiere until 2026, but Canadian streamer Crave and its parent company Bell Media pushed up the release date, according to Variety , predicting it would be a big hit—and they were right. For Crave, it’s the most-watched original series ever on the streamer.
And for US viewers, HBO Max bought it too, which is a bit confusing – here’s how you watch Heated rivalry online in the US, UK and Canada. So with Season 2 on the way, here’s what we know so far about the expected release date, cast, trailer, plot and more.
Heated Rivalry Season 2 Release Date Prediction
Heated rivalry season 2 is officially on the way, as confirmed by the show’s official Instagram on December 12. But while we don’t have a release date yet, there’s plenty to talk about.
Justin Stockman, VP Content and Programming for Bell Media said of the renewal: “Heated rivalry represents the very best of what Canadian creators can deliver: rich characters, compelling drama and a world that audiences want to live in.”
But what Stockman also told The Toronto Star is even more interesting, addressing the possibility of a bonus episode or two ahead of Season 2: “We’ll see what’s possible. If Jacob Tierney can find a way to make the source material work in a way that gets us something faster or something special, I’m sure he will.”
“I’d love to have this back for the holidays next year, but it’s probably not going to happen. We can’t rush the process. We won’t be able to repeat the magic if we push him.”
Regarding filming for Season 2, series star Hudson Williams said in an interview with Variety, “Maybe someone told me July or August, but I really don’t know.” And when his co-star Connor Storrie appeared on the TODAY show in mid-January, he hinted that they would get back together in the summer.
With this in mind, I would predict that we will see season 2 in early 2027. But we’ll have to wait and see.
Heated Rivalry season 2 trailer
There is no Heated rivalry season 2 trailer yet, but in order to predict when it will drop, we first need a release date.
Knowing when it’s coming, it’s highly likely that we’ll see a trailer drop about a month before Season 2 airs. We’ll make sure to add it here when it finally arrives.
Heated Rivalry season 2 cast
There is some official news as far as that goes Heated rivalry season 2 cast is concerned. First, Williams and Storrie will reprise their roles as Shane and Ilya, respectively. As reported by GQ: “Both actors signed on for three seasons of Heated rivalry.” And more on this later as we look into future seasons.
As for other returning characters and new faces to the cast, Tierney told Variety that for Season 2, “There’s more of a feeling of getting to know the team in Ottawa that Ilya’s going to be playing for and getting to know Hayden and Jacki more. And there’s more Yuna and David.”
We’d also be surprised if François Arnaud and Robbie GK didn’t return given how Scott and Kip’s story played out during Season 1, but we don’t have anything official on that right now.
Here is the predicted (and somewhat confirmed) cast list for Heated rivalry season 2:
- Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander
- Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov
- Callan Potter as Hayden Pike
- Kamilla Kowal as Jacki Pike
- Christina Chang as Yuna Hollander
- Dylan Walsh as David Hollander
- François Arnaud as Scott Hunter
- Robbie GK as Kip Grady
Heated Rivalry season 2 story synopsis
Full spoilers for Heated rivalry Season 1 follows. Plus, potential Season 2 spoilers.
In Season 1, Shane and Ilya struggled with their passion for hockey and their passion for each other. They could not mix the two of them together and therefore kept their relationship a secret from friends, family and MHL. But by the Season 1 finale, they couldn’t help but admit that they loved each other and were looking forward to what their lives could be like if they made it work.
And for season 2, the show’s creator, Jacob Tierney, told Deadline that it will be based on The long gamewhich is the only other current book in Reid’s series focusing on Ilya and Shane’s relationship.
Speaking to Variety, he talked about what it will look like when it comes to translating it to our screens: “There are so many new characters that will be really fun to bring in. But I think the next season will end up feeling different because it’s a more focused book. It takes place over a shorter period of time.”
Adds: “Hopefully what’s going to happen, like with any good second season in general, is we’re going to enrich the things that you already know and how those threads started, and then draw on them and really get into it. But I’m also really looking forward to seeing Ilya in therapy. It’s probably a really good thing for him.”
You can of course take a look at The long game to get a really good idea of what’s to come, which is exactly what Williams and Storrie do in the renewal announcement video shown above. But don’t worry, it’s just a teaser.
Storrie reads from the pages, “Shane fell into his arms. The usual rush of relief flowed through him as he kissed for the first time in two weeks. I missed you, Ilya said needlessly,” winking at the camera.
Picking up the sixth book in Reid’s series, the pair have been hiding their relationship for ten years. And as the book’s synopsis says: “It’s time for them to decide what’s more important – hockey or love. It’s time to call.” More hockey and more love? Register with us.
Will there be more seasons of Heated Rivlary?
As mentioned earlier, GQ revealed that both Williams and Storrie had already signed up for three seasons of the show, so it seems pretty likely that there’s more to come. Of course, like any renewal of the show, it always depends on how it performs, but with Season 1 an overnight success, the odds look good.
More importantly, there is something important worth noting about Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series on which the series is based. A new book is on the way. book seven, Unmatchedhas an expected release date of September 29 – and it’s another one specifically focused on Ilya and Shane.
Without giving too much away with the official synopsis for Reid’s next book, it’s a really good sign that there will be more source material to build a Season 3 on. Any news we hear about an official renewal, we’ll be sure to post here.
For more Max-focused coverage, read our guides on the best Max shows, best Max movies, True detective Season 5 and Industry season 4.
