And just like that, Heated Rivalry season 1 has come to an end. The hockey romance series based on the book by Rachel Reid took the world by storm when it premiered on Crave and HBO Max on Nov. 28. Between the steamy scenes and the incredible love story, fans quickly became obsessed with the show, but we're about to hit quite the Shane and Ilya drought.
Unfortunately, there are only six episodes in Heated Rivalry season 1. It's unclear why the season contained so few episodes when most streaming series these days have either eight to 10 episodes per season. But after season 1 episode 6 released on Dec. 26, don't expect to see another episode hit your watch list the following week. The first season has finished airing, and now we wait.
Halfway into the incredibly successful first season, Crave and HBO Max announced that Heated Rivalry season 2 was renewed and on the way. The show will remain a Crave original in Canada with HBO Max on board as a key distributing partner but not a producer. While we don't have more new episodes to look forward to in season 1, we can now turn our attention to season 2!
Heated Rivalry season 2 might not arrive until 2027
While it's still early into the process for Heated Rivalry season 2, the next chapter of Shane and Ilya's story had initially been suggested to premiere sometime in 2026, but creator Jacob Tierney revealed that the series might not be back until 2027. "It can’t be same time next year, because this time last year I’d written five of these, and this time this year I’ve written zero of them. So it’s going to be a little bit later, but it’s still going to be soon," Tierney told Variety.
A release window hasn't been confirmed just yet given that season 2's still in the early phases of development, but it's tentatively slated to begin production sometime in mid-2026. Hudson Williams shared some insight into when filming would begin, which also lends to an early 2027 debut.
During an interview with Variety, the Shane Hollander actor revealed a potential production start date for season 2: "Maybe someone has told me July or August, but I really don’t know." Well, let's hope that cameras start rolling a bit sooner that July or August 2026. It's possible that season 2 could still premiere even if filming begins that late, but an earlier start would allow for a possible late-2026 bow.
One of the biggest requests from fans for Heated Rivalry season 2 will definitely be an increased episode count. As mentioned before, the first season contained only six episodes, but according to Tierney, the second season probably won't increase its episode count. Again, that's still subject to change, but let's manage our expectations.
The little bit of information that we do know about Heated Rivalry season 2 includes the fact that the episodes will pull from Shane and Ilya's follow-up novel The Long Game. We'll have to find out whether season 2 will adapt the entire book or save some chapters for a potential third season (which Williams and Storrie have already signed on for). Additionally, we'll also learn later whether more characters from Reid's Game Changers series will be introduced.
For now, we know for sure that Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will be back for season 2, and that François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. should be back as Scott and Kip. As for what else and who else we can expect from the highly anticipated second season, we'll be sure to share all of the latest news and updates as they're announced and teased by the cast, crew, and network!