There might not be a show currently on television that fans are as feverishly excited about returning than Heated Rivalry. The hockey romance series skyrocketed into a global sensation, and leading into the highly anticipated second season, we have been hanging onto any and all updates that come our way about the upcoming new episodes. The latest might be the most thrilling yet.
Following Heated Rivalry's sweep at the Canadian Screen Awards, which included major wins for Hudson Williams and the show as a whole, reports began swirling on social media that the second season was officially set to begin filming in August 2026 with a wrap date expected in December. Knowing how long the first season spent in production, the length had fans theorizing.
As soon as those dates hit the internet, the Heated Rivalry fandom was ablaze with the possibility that the second season and the as-yet not renewed (but inevitable) third season would be filming back-to-back. There have been no official announcements on this front from Crave, but one of the show's stars appears to have let the news slip during a recent appearance.
François Arnaud reportedly teases Heated Rivalry season 2 and 3 are filming back-to-back
While speaking at a Pride Event for JP Morgan, Heated Rivalry star François Arnaud allegedly stated that Heated Rivalry was preparing to go back into production this summer and seasons 2 and 3 would be filmed together. A user on Threads shared a screengrab of the event's livestream, though didn't share video of Arnaud speaking these words about the back-to-back filming.
Being so, Arnaud's exact quote hasn't been seen by the public, but his alleged statement definitely aligns with what has seemingly been the worst kept secret about Heated Rivalry season 2 and its production schedule. Even when the show was initially renewed, many streaming executives also mentioned season 3 in the same breath, so even if it's not official yet, it's (again) inevitable.
Here's why Heated Rivalry seasons 2 and 3 filming back-to-back makes a lot of sense, and there's more than one reason. First of all, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie have been two of the most in-demand actors since their breakthrough roles on the show. Making sure to lock down their availability for two seasons makes sure there isn't a massive gap between seasons 2 and 3, otherwise we could be waiting until 2029 for season 3. No one wants that to happen.
Also, the longer time period set aside for filming directly negates what we know to be true about the first season, which was filmed in a little more than one month. This time around, Heated Rivalry season 2 has about five months set aside for filming. Series creator, writer, and director Jacob Tierney has stated that he didn't receive a large budget increase. A production can't last about five times longer without a significant budget increase to pay the cast and crew.
These two specific reasons provide logistical evidence to the reports and rumors that the series will be knocking out two seasons back-to-back this summer and fall. But there's still a chance that this isn't the case, despite what Arnaud allegedly said, and the longer amount of time allows for small breaks in production, or they actually are taking that long for season 2.
However, I'm hopeful that the powers that be were smart and had the foresight to film two seasons together. The Long Game, the book that inspires season 2's Shane and Ilya plot, is much meatier storytelling wise and includes appearances from all of the other couples that lead Rachel Reid's books in the series: Tough Guy, Common Goal, and Role Model.
Heated Rivalry fans have held the belief that The Long Game should be split into two seasons, and given the possibility of side quests to adapt the other books in standalone episodes, this vision seems to be coming into sight. Of course, there's still Unrivaled to factor in later on in the future. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves and hope for confirmation on season 2's plans soon.
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