Like just about everyone else on my FYP, I have been at the cottage awaiting Season 2 of the Crave series Heated Rivalry. Every Friday since the first two episodes aired on Nov. 28, 2025, the series has had a serious chokehold on viewers (myself included). Now that it’s over and been renewed for Season 2, I’m wondering, what will Heated Rivalry Season 2 be about?
ICYMI, Heated Rivalry is based on Rachel Reid’s romance novel of the same name, which follows hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as their public rivalry on the ice turns into an intense romance in private. The series — which streams on HBO Max in the U.S. — has gone absolutely viral on social media, and has climbed its way to the No. 1 spot on HBO Max’s Top 10 series. Not only are fans loving the series’ sensual sex scenes, they’re also obsessed with the relationship between co-stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, and director Jacob Tierney’s commitment to the book’s source material.
Since the finale aired on Dec. 25, 2025, viewers have been wondering what’s next for Shane and Ilya — and finding ways to cope without their weekly fix until Season 2 is released (likely in 2027). But have no fear, Rachel Reid’s The Long Game may give us some clues as to what comes after the cottage.
Where did Heated Rivalry season 1 leave off?
The Season 1 finale of Heated Rivalry, titled “The Cottage,” begins with Scott Hunter addressing his public coming-out while accepting the Major Hockey League’s MVP award. During his acceptance speech, Scott opens up about the isolation he felt as a gay hockey player — a message that resonated with viewers due to the sport’s real-life failures to address issues of homophobia in hockey culture.
Scott and Kip aren’t the only ones whose relationship gets a chance in the sun. As Shane and Ilya arrive at Shane’s private cottage, the two are finally given the chance to be together away from the spotlight. But while this time together has brought them closer, the couple considers important decisions that could shape their life together. The two consider putting their public rivalry to rest, soft-launching their relationship to the hockey world. The episode ends with Shane coming out to his parents, revealing his relationship with Ilya, and the two driving back to the cottage hand-in-hand.
The finale is not quite a happily ever after for Shane and Ilya — more of a “happy-for-now” — leaving fans anxious to see what new challenges they will face as they plan a future together. If you’re like me and haven’t read Reid’s Game Changers book series (which includes Heated Rivalry) before watching the show, look no further than The Long Game for some insight.
What happens in The Long Game?
Reid’s novel The Long Game takes place approximately three years following the events of Heated Rivalry. At this point, Shane and Ilya have been together for almost a decade, and are now facing pressure to come out publicly. No relationship without struggle; and this pressure causes tension between Ilya and Shane, who feel differently on whether or not their relationship remains a secret. We see Ilya battle his depression, as Shane grapples with career changes. When the future of their relationship is called into question, the characters will choose — between hockey and their relationship.
With Williams and Storrie supposedly signing contracts to reprise their roles for three seasons of Heated Rivalry, viewers will have to wait and see much of the book will be adapted into the series. Additionally, viewers may be introduced to other characters in the Game Changers series in an in-depth way — like Scott and Kip — whose stories intersect with Shane and Ilya’s in the book series. While these other characters add a new layer to the fictionalized hockey world, director Jacob Tierney has confirmed that Shane and Ilya will remain the focus of Season 2 — which will draw the majority of its inspiration from The Long Game.