Slowly but surely, we're getting closer and closer to returning to the cottage. Heated Rivalry season 2 has been in the works and on the way since the hockey romance became an overnight global sensation in late 2025, but fans have had to remain patient until the cast and crew can get back on set later this year. However, the highly anticipated follow-up just landed some thrilling news.
The cast and crew of Heated Rivalry reunited on Sunday, May 31 for the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, where the series was nominated for 18 awards. All told, the show won 16 of its nominations, which became a new record for the most wins in one night at the ceremony. Heated Rivalry snagged the biggest award of the night, Best Drama Series, as well as wins for its writing and direction.
Hudson Williams also won Best Leading Performance in a Drama Series, the actor's first major award win since breaking out with the role of Shane Hollander. During the Canadian Screen Awards festivities, both Williams and Heated Rivalry showrunner Jacob Tierney shared exciting new details, updates, and insights on season 2, including what they're looking forward to most!
The show's team had an embarrassment of riches lately, as Heated Rivalry also picked up a Peabody Award win and an honor from the Critics Choice Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema and Television. In a remote acceptance speech for the Critics Choice ceremony, Tierney expressed his gratitude and also snuck in an update on the behind-the-scenes progress on season 2.
"I’m so, so grateful, and I’m so sorry that I cannot be there to celebrate with all of you in person and accept this. I’m working very hard on season 2 to get it out to people as soon as possible. I genuinely wish I could be there. I’m so moved by this," Tierney said.
Hudson Williams shares what he's looking forward to most about Heated Rivalry season 2
Since early 2026, once the dust had settled from the show's successful drop, Tierney has been hard at work writing Heated Rivalry season 2 with his new co-writer Michael Goldbach. The full season has been outlined already and scripts are in progress as production gears up to begin this summer. A filming start date has been reported for July 2026, though there are also rumblings of an August start date.
While on the red carpet ahead of the Canadian Screen Awards, Williams spoke to Etalk along with Tierney and fellow Heated Rivalry executive producer Brendan Brady. For the first time, the actor spoke at length about the aspect of the second season he's looking forward to most beyond the actual narrative aspects of Shane and Ilya's story, and it marks a first for him.
"I kinda just want to honor the scripts that Jacob will write, and I think finding a new—I've never gotten the chance to revisit a character before. I know that's something that really excites me and Connor [Storrie]. I think it's going to be fun. The summer camp vibe is definitely how that set feels, and I think I'm excited to swim in that and also just where the relationship grows. It feels very much like something I can just kind of pick up and then evolve and that's going to be really rewarding," Williams shared.
Since it's the first series regular television role for both actors, they each haven't returned to a character in either film or television (though Williams' fans have pointed out that he did reprise his role as Land Leopard in a sequel short film). After the world has now made Shane and Ilya their own, Williams and Storrie have the chance to dive back into their characters with a new perspective, which will be supplied by Rachel Reid's book The Long Game.
The busy cast and crew gets back to work this summer for an expected season 2 rollout that should begin sometime in spring 2027, though the premiere window is tentative right now. There are still so many exciting Heated Rivalry things to look forward to, from new books to cozy merch drops to the highly anticipated castings of at least eight new characters. Stay tune for more updates!
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