‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2 Is on Its Way—and It Already Has a Stacked Cast

After a long summer of award shows, hosting gigs, and fashion shenanigans, Heated Rivalry stars Corrie Storrie and Hudson Williams have recently been spotted out and about in Toronto, where they’ll be filming the hit show’s second season. Indeed, ever since Crave and HBO greenlit the sophomore season, fans have been desperately counting down the days (I am “fans”) until Ilya (Storrie) and Shane (Williams) return to our screens.

But what will Heated Rivalry Season 2 be about? When will it be released? And who are the returning cast members—and the brand-new faces? Here’s everything you need to know about everyone’s favorite horny, gay hockey show’s second outing. Siri, play the Harrison remix of “All the Things She Said” by t.A.T.u.

I’m as eager for season two as the next person with a Sky subscription and an unshakeable delusion that every one in sports is secretly hooking up with their rival. But where could Ilya and Shane’s story possibly go from here? Though plot specifics for Heated Rivalry season two haven’t been confirmed, it’s worth noting that author Rachel Reid did release a follow-up of sorts – the sixth book in her Game Changer series – titled The Long Game. And, in an Instagram clip shared by HBO, Storrie said, “Start reading The Long Game if you want to spoil it for yourselves.” Here’s a summary of the plot:

“10 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.”

Creator Jacob Tierney also revealed that season two would likely be confined to a tight six episodes, so there’s plenty in the relatively dense source material that’ll be cut or adapted creatively for screen (as is always the case with any retelling). On an episode of the podcast Loon Call earlier this year, however, Tierney did confirm that some of season two would focus on Shane coming out to his teammates. “I’m going to have to do Shane coming out to his team,” he said. “I can’t do that off screen… you have to see it. You have to experience it yourself… I knew as soon as I was going through the book and breaking it apart. I have these circled beats.”

Obviously Storrie and Williams will be returning as the leads (“See you next season?” wrote Williams in an Instagram post last summer). And it stands to reason that Christina Chang and Dylan Walsh will likely return as Shane’s parents, Yuna and David Hollander, considering the significance of their roles in The Long Game.

Neither François Arnaud (Scott Hunter) nor Robbie Graham-Kuntz (Kip Grady) have been confirmed to return—though that does seem likely. “Not that we weren’t expecting it, but I think we’re all surprised at how popular Scott and Kip were,” Reid told Variety. “So now it’s, ‘OK, how do you get more Scott and Kip?’”

Elsewhere, various new faces have been added to the mix. We’ve got Justice Smith (whom you may know from Jane Schoenbrun’s cult fantasy-horror I Saw The TV Glow), who has been cast as Harris Drover, a prominent character from Reid’s Game Changers series. As per Variety, the Season 2 cast will also include Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Edvin Ryding (28 Years Later), Robert Naylor (Mile End Kicks), Sabrina Jalees (Black Mirror), and Priyanka (Drag Brunch Saved My Life).

The million-dollar question! Though an official release date hasn’t been announced, some time in spring 2027 is looking likely—especially with filming commencing this month. “It will not be the same time next year, but it’ll be pretty soon after that,” Tierney said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly way back in December. “It’s not gonna be two years. It’s not even gonna be 18 months, I don’t think.”

In titillating news, though, one exec revealed that a bonus episode could potentially be on the cards before then. “We’re going to see what’s feasible,” Justin Stockman, vice president of content development and programming at Bell Media told Toronto Star. “If [Tierney] can find a way to make the source material work in a way that gets us something sooner or something special, I’m sure he will. I would love to have this back for the holidays next year, but that likely is not going to happen. We can’t rush the process. We won’t be able to repeat the magic if we push him.”