The breakout queer hockey drama Heated Rivalry is rapidly filling out its Season 2 roster. Five new cast members — Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees, and Priyanka — are joining the Crave-HBO Max series, the network announced Thursday, adding to the previously confirmed castings of Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie alongside returning leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. [1][2]
A Surprise Hit Builds on Its Momentum
When Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave in November 2025 with minimal promotional fanfare, few anticipated what would follow. The show rapidly became a major cultural phenomenon, earning a renewal just weeks after its debut and turning its two leads into overnight stars. [1] Williams and Storrie were both working as waiters when they booked their roles as rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov — a detail that has only added to the show's underdog mythology. Williams subsequently won a Canadian Screen Award for his portrayal of Shane. [2]
The series is adapted from Rachel Reid's Game Changers book series, with Season 1 drawing primarily from the second novel, Heated Rivalry, which traces the complicated, years-long romantic entanglement between Shane and Ilya. [2] The first novel in Reid's series, Game Changers, provided secondary source material for that debut season as well. [2]
What Season 2 Will Cover
Season 2 shifts its literary source material considerably. Creator Jacob Tierney has confirmed the season will be adapted from Reid's sixth novel, The Long Game, which picks up Shane and Ilya's story as they navigate a committed relationship while keeping their true feelings hidden from the public eye. [2] Tierney has also stated that Role Model, a novel set concurrently with The Long Game, will serve as additional source material — suggesting a broader, more ensemble-driven narrative scope for the new season. [2]
That expansion is reflected directly in the new casting announcements. Ryding, known internationally for The Young Royals and his recent appearance in 28 Years Later, will play Luca Haas, a rookie on the Ottawa Centaurs. [1][2] Naylor (Cardinal) joins as Wyatt Hayes, the Centaurs' goalie. Both characters are teammates of Storrie's Ilya Rozanov and are described as fan favorites in Reid's book series. [2]
Jalees (I Used to Be Funny, Black Mirror) takes on the role of Farah Jalali, who in Reid's novels serves as the agent to both Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov — a character positioned at the center of the show's professional and personal drama. [1][2]
A Third Novel Enters the Picture
Perhaps the most intriguing signal in the new casting comes from the roles assigned to Hampshire and Priyanka. Hampshire (Schitt's Creek, VisionQuest) will play Vanessa, while Priyanka (Drag Brunch Saved My Life) is set to play Tarek. [1] According to source material context, both characters are best friends of Fabian Salah, an aspiring musician who is one half of the central couple in Reid's third novel, Tough Guy, alongside hockey player Ryan Price. [2]
The inclusion of Vanessa and Tarek strongly implies that Fabian and Ryan's love story will factor into Season 2 to some degree — though casting for those two central characters has not yet been announced. [2] It marks the first time the show appears to be drawing from Tough Guy, broadening the universe of Reid's series beyond the Shane-and-Ilya axis that defined Season 1.
The Creative Team and Production Timeline
Jacob Tierney returns as writer, director, and executive producer, with Mike Goldbach joining as co-writer for the new season. [1][2] Brendan Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson continue as executive producers, with Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje producing. Reid remains attached as a consulting producer. [1][2] The series is produced through Tierney and Brady's Accent Aigu Entertainment and commissioned by Bell Media's Crave with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. [2] International distribution is handled by Sphere Abacus, a Bell Media company. [1]
Production on Season 2 is set to begin this month, with HBO Max confirming it will continue to air the series internationally. A spring 2027 release is the current target. [2]
What to Watch Next
The immediate question is who will be cast as Fabian Salah and Ryan Price — the two characters whose story the newly announced Vanessa and Tarek are built around. With production beginning now and the show drawing from at least three of Reid's novels simultaneously, the scale of Season 2 appears significantly more ambitious than its predecessor. Whether Heated Rivalry can convert its cultural lightning-in-a-bottle moment into a sustained second act is the defining challenge ahead.
