To say that Heated Rivalry has become one of the most popular shows on streaming would be an understatement. Between the show earning a quick season 2 renewal before season 1 even finished airing to the immediate rise to stardom of stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the hockey romance series remains at the top of everyone's minds, months after its premiere.
Even though we have another book from Rachel Reid to look forward to before the end of 2026, Heated Rivalry season 2 likely won't be released until 2027. The release timeframe was once again confirmed and clarified by creator and showrunner Jacob Tierney, who revealed a number of new details about the upcoming follow-up season, ranging from exciting to disappointing.
While speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Tierney revealed that he's currently working on the story and writing process for season 2 with a co-writer this time around, and shared he's aiming for a spring 2027. "As much as I appreciate how rabid and interested people are at this point, the first season worked because I trusted my gut with this, and I’m going to do that again."
Heated Rivalry season 2 likely won't have more than six episodes
However, before you get too frustrated about having to wait longer than expected, there's another detail about Heated Rivalry season 2 that Tierney revealed that directly dashed some fans' hopes. Since season 1 featured only six episodes, some were keeping their fingers crossed for a longer season, perhaps even as high as 10 or 12 episodes. Well, that probably won't happen.
As he stated to the Los Angeles Times, "I don’t need to do 10. I would always rather tighten the belt than get loosey-goosey. I would rather be like, ‘Let’s see how much story we can pack into these episodes.'" Obviously, that's not the update that most of us wanted to hear. We want to hear that there's a possibility that season 2 will have more episodes, but this isn't such a bad thing.
Tierney will have a co-writer for season 2, which will help streamline the process, but he will remain the sole director for each episode (however many season 2 ends up being). He didn't divulge whether he will be splitting up The Long Game, Reid's book that will inspire season 2, but after watching (and loving!) the first season, fans should have faith that Tierney can pull off another perfect season.
Troy Barrett's Role Model story could be told in season 2
What he was able to do with the first season, which covered almost the entirety of the Heated Rivalry and Game Changer (scenes were altered or omitted, of course), in just six episodes was nothing short of masterful. Fans should allow him time and trust to work his magic again for Shane and Ilya... and the many new characters we will surely be meeting in the second season.
The Long Game features a number of characters that appear throughout Reid's books that haven't yet been adapted on the show: Tough Guy, Common Goal, and Role Model. We can expect to meet Ilya's new Centaur's teammates, like Wyatt Hayes (and fans have hopes for who should play him), but Tierney also confirmed more "diversions" to other characters with standalone episodes.
"Just like you can’t tell the story without Scott Hunter, you can’t really tell the story without Troy Barrett," Tierney told the Los Angeles Times. Name-dropping Troy Barrett, who's one of the two leads of the Role Model novel along with Harris, suggests that he could be the center of a season 2 bottle episode. We might not be getting a longer season, but we could be seeing Troy and Harris's story.
As the pre-production process for season 2 continues, we'll have to wait for further updates from Tierney and the team regarding the episode count, story details, and casting. Stay tuned and we'll be sure share the latest Heated Rivalry news!