Heated Rivalry Season 2 In The Works — Here's Why The Possibilities Feel Endless

"Heated Rivalry," the steamy, excellent, and thrilling queer hockey series that recently made a splash on HBO Max thanks to a partnership with Canadian network Crave, is coming back for a second season ... and the future feels limitless for the series, which /Film just barely crowned as one of the best TV shows of 2025.

Justin Stockman, the vice president of content and programming at Crave owner Bell Media, issued the following statement about the renewal (via The Hollywood Reporter): "'Heated Rivalry' represents the very best of what Canadian creators can deliver: rich characters, compelling drama, and a world audiences want to live in. The response has been extraordinary, and seeing the series now traveling internationally is an incredible milestone." 

Elsewhere, creator Justin Tierney (who's also overseen Canadian shows like "Letterkenny" and "Shoresy") and his fellow executive producer Brendan Brady provided a statement of their own: "Watching our show become an international phenomenon has been extraordinary. We're profoundly grateful to everyone that has been on this journey with us. Being renewed for a second season so early is a true honor, and we can't wait to bring you even more of what you love."

Anyone who's watched "Heated Rivalry," which is based on a collection of books written by Rachel Reid, is probably pretty psyched that we'll see more of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, the hockey rivals and secret lovers played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storey. Still, Reid has published quite a few novels in her literary franchise, which is actually called the "Game Changers" series ... and it's entirely possible that future seasons of "Heated Rivalry" will shift focus away from Shane and Ilya and onto other characters in this universe.

In 2023, Rachel Reid, who also hails from Canada, spoke to the Washington Post about why it felt important for her to pen the "Game Changers" novels and, specifically, why she wanted to bring queer characters in the hockey world to the masses. "'Game Changers' came from a place of me being angry at hockey culture and how clearly homophobic it was and is, and all the other things that made me really ashamed to be a hockey fan," Reid, whose real name is Rachelle Goguen and who writes under a pseudonym, told the newspaper. "That whole series attacks the NHL and hockey culture quite a bit."

Hilariously, the real NHL seems to be embracing the attention it's getting thanks to "Heated Rivalry." Indeed, Sophie Nélisse, the "Yellowjackets" star who appears in the show's first season as Rose Landry (a famous actor who ends up romantically linked to Shane Hollander), even posted a video of an ad for the series that aired during an actual hockey game (which was then spread by fans on X/Twitter). Still, here's something great about Reid's book series: While season 1 of "Heated Rivalry" focuses on the romances between Ilya and Shane, along with the budding attraction between barista Christopher "Kip" Grady (Robbie G.K.) and another hockey player, Scott Hunter (François Arnaud), that only covers Reid's first two novels. Yes, Shane and Ilya recur across multiple books, but there are also other queer couples in the hockey world that feature quite prominently in novels like "Tough Guy," "Common Goal," and "Role Model." In other words, Jacob Tierney can really take future seasons of "Heated Rivalry" in any direction he wants.

Obviously, a show centering on multiple queer couples like "Heated Rivalry" — couples that are pushing against societal pressures to stay secret and hidden — is a big deal in general, because representations of queer romance are still sorely lacking on both the big and small screen. The other reason the season 2 renewal is so noteworthy, though, is that this show really picked up steam on social media once Crave and HBO Max joined forces to stream it across the world. Rachel Reid's considerable fanbase definitely helped matters, but speaking as someone who had honestly never even heard of the "Game Changers" books before watching and greatly enjoying "Heated Rivalry," there was plenty of organic interest in the show outside of Reid's established fans.

Liking stuff out loud on the Internet can be scary and even feel vulnerable (and, full disclosure, I'm saying that as someone who isn't shy about publicly being a Swiftie). The overwhelmingly positive reaction to "Heated Rivalry" definitely helped Crave and HBO Max put their combined weight behind a second season, though, so it's nice for fans of this series and TV in general, frankly, that a joyous outcry like the one that's happened over "Heated Rivalry" can actually lead to more of this compelling, outrageously hot, and consuming story.

The first four episodes of "Heated Rivalry" are streaming on HBO Max now; the first season will span six episodes and conclude on December 26, 2025.