Right now, it's hard to find a show that people are more excited for to return than Heated Rivalry. The Canadian hockey romance remains at the top of everyone's minds following its global takeover at the end of last year, and our hearts have been racing while waiting for season 2 ever since.
While the most devoted fans every single thing about Heated Rivalry season 2 and have been closely watching the movements of stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie all year long, it's safe to say that with a show that's talked about so much, some fans might have missed some updates.
Heated Rivalry season 2 is off to the races, getting back on the ice for filming with new and returning cast members, rumors about the episode count, which of Rachel Reid's books the season will cover, and many more details. We're rounding up what to know about season 2 so far!
Filming began in August 2026
After the first season wrapped its run in December 2025, everyone wanted to know when Shane and Ilya would be back in Heated Rivalry season 2. Earlier this year, rumors started swirling that production wouldn't get back up and running until later this summer, and those projections turned out to be true. Cameras officially started rolling on season 2 in August 2026.
While fans believed that filming began on Aug. 10, the official Heated Rivalry social media accounts announced on Aug. 17 that production had kicked off with a photo of two characters obscured by the film slate. Naturally, it didn't take superfans long to deduce which character could be featured in the photo despite their faces not being visible, but the good news is filming is underway.
Heated Rivalry season 2 will continue filming throughout the rest of the year and is expected to wrap up sometime in December 2026 ahead of its expected April 2027 premiere. The cast has been pictured on set, including Williams in character as Shane in a Metros hoodie and Storrie showing off his oddly controversial new buzzcut. But no official behind the scenes photos have dropped.
Confirmed new and returning cast members
Obviously, Canadian Screen Award winner Hudson Williams and Emmy Award nominee Connor Storrie are reprising their leading roles as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov respectively. There are no changes in store for their roles in Heated Rivalry season 2 in spite of concerns among a certain subset of fans as the cast grew with new additions from other books in the saga.
In addition to Williams and Storrie continuing to be the center of the series, Crave and HBO Max also confirmed the returns of a number of the first season's recurring cast members. Of course, Christina Chang and Dylan Walsh will be back as Shane's loving parents, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova returns as Ilya's best friend Svetlana, and François Arnuad and Robbie G.K. are giving us more Skip.
Check out the full returning cast of Heated Rivalry season 2:
- Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander
- Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov
- Christina Chang as Yuna Hollander
- Dylan Walsh as David Hollander
- François Arnaud as Scott Hunter
- Robbie G.K. as Kip Grady
- Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana Vetrova
- Sophie Nélisse as Rose Landry
- Callan Potter as Hayden Pike
- Kamilla Kowal as Jackie Pike
- Benjamin Roy as JJ Dagenais
While there could be other familiar faces popping up in the second season, the cast has also expanded with the inclusion of a number of new characters from other books in Reid's Game Changers series. The leading couples from the books Tough Guy and Role Model have been cast after months of anticipation from fans, along with additional recurring and guest stars.
Take a closer look at the new cast members that have been revealed so far:
- Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett
- Justice Smith as Harris Drover
- Daniel Diemer as Ryan Price
- Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah
- Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas
- Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes
- Emily Hampshire as Vanessa
- Sabrina Jalees as Farah
- Priyanka as Tarek
- Kevin Zegers as Coach Wiebe
- Paul Gross as Commissioner Roger Crowell
- Milla Jovovich as Dr. Galina Molchalina
Gillespie and Smith play Role Model's central couple, hockey player Troy and social media manager Harris, and Diemer and Jafargholia play Tough Guy's couple, hockey enforcer Ryan and musician Fabian. Ryding and Naylor step into the recurring roles of Ilya's Centaurs teammates Luca and Wyatt, while Zegers plays the Centaurs' coach and Jovovich plays Ilya's Russian-speaking therapist.
Hampshire and Priyanka have small roles as Fabian's friends, Jalees will appear as Shane and Ilya's sports agent, and Gross plays the league's evil commissioner. There could still be more castings to come, as fans are hopeful to see Common Goal's lead Eric Bennett and other recurring hockey player characters such as Zane Boodram, Evan Dykstra, and Dallas Kent.
The Long Game, Role Model, and The Long Game will be adapted
As you can deduce from the new characters that have been added to the cast, Heated Rivalry season 2 will be pulling from more than one book in Reid's series. Just as the first season adapted the titular novel and the first book in the series, Game Changer, the second season will be tackling at least three books. The Long Game is the key focus of the season as it's centered on Shane and Ilya.
Apart from The Long Game, which is the sixth book in the series, season 2 will also adapt the fifth book in the series, Role Model, which directly overlaps with The Long Game's timeline. The second season will also tie in the third book, Tough Guy, though it's unclear whether these books will have standalone episodes in the same way that Game Changer did last season.
Whether there's solo episodes or not, Troy and Harris will be major recurring characters anyway. If you didn't already voraciously consume the book series before Heated Rivalry premiered or after the show reached peak popularity, here's your incentive to pick up the books and get to know the characters, stories, and Hollanov entanglements before season 2 premieres.
There are rumored to be 12 episodes in production
Heated Rivalry season 2 has a lot on its plate in terms of storytelling, which makes some fans wonder how they're going to fit it all into another six-episode season. After all, there are two weddings in The Long Game, and Jacob Tierney also confirmed we're going to see Shane come out to his team, which was a scene that was only mentioned without action in the book.
However, there's a chance that more than six episodes could be on the way. Since early this summer, rumors have been swirling that season 2 and season 3 could be filming back-to-back, based on the longer production timeline and comments made by Arnaud. Not to mention, Walsh got in "trouble" by revealing in a Cameo video that they were filming 12 episodes this time around.
Nothing as been confirmed by Tierney or Crave about the official Heated Rivalry season 2 episode count or whether two seasons are being filmed at once, but the prospect of either option—an extended season or another season already being in the works—happening is exciting. There have also been rumors of a special, but again, nothing has been formally announced by the creator or streamer.
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