Since its release in November 2025, Heated Rivalry has become one of the most significant pop culture phenomena of the past decade. If you’re anything like me, the next season of this incredible story can’t come fast enough. Personally, almost every person I’ve talked to about this show has already rewatched it at least once.
Based on the novel by Rachel Reid, this hockey romance series is an emotional whirlwind that guides viewers through the long and tumultuous secret love affair between two hockey champions, Canadian Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).
The pair are enemies in the public eye due to the competing hockey teams they play for. However, behind closed doors, they’re secret lovers whose relationship has been developing for almost a decade throughout the show.
It’s gone viral, mostly for its frequent racy scenes, but also for the loving and tender moments between the boys. Heated Rivalry is a pioneer in expanding representation for gay male athletes everywhere, and its impact knows no bounds.
Season 1 was a huge success. Upon its release, Episode 5 got a perfect 10/10 IMDb rating, putting it on par with Breaking Bad’s “Ozymandias.” The show sparked a social media frenzy, leading to the second season being picked up midway through the first season’s airing. Fans, including myself, aren’t only obsessed with the love story between Shane and Ilya, but also the sweet, off-screen relationship between the two co-stars.
The finale of Season 1, titled “The Cottage,” left off with the boys spending a romantic weekend at Shane’s private cottage, finally able to be alone and out of the public eye. Soon, their escape is disrupted when unforeseen circumstances get in the way of their getaway.
This comes on the heels of Scott Hunter’s public coming out on national television and being awarded the Major Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player. In the opening scene of the finale, which depicts his acceptance speech, he expresses his journey with his sexuality. He addresses large-scale issues of homophobia within hockey, resonating with viewers worldwide.
So far, the show has followed the source material very closely, so it’s expected that Season 2 will do the same. Heated Rivalry is taken from the second novel in Reid’s Game Changers series, the first one focusing on Scott and Kip’s relationship. However, Ilya and Shane’s story continues in the sequel, The Long Game. The Long Game will presumably be the primary story that Season 2 depicts.
Storrie said in an interview with TODAY, “All I know is that going forward, the connection is going to deepen,” and production for the next season may begin as soon as summer 2026. Director Jacob Tierney told Variety, “We’re very aware that our creative partners are enthusiastic and don’t want to wait too long. We’re getting back to work!”
Fans of the show have been speculating about the next season on social media. So far, we know that Season 2 will for sure star Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander, Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov, François Arnaud as Scott Hunter, Robbie Graham-Kuntz as Kip, and Matthew Finlan as Kyle Swift.
Kyle was a minor character in Season 1, but Reid’s novel Common Goal features him as a main character, so it’s possible he’ll have a larger role next season.
According to an interview with GQ, it was confirmed that Williams and Storrie have both signed for three-season contracts with Crave and HBO Max. This means that we’ll be seeing a lot more of these boys in the next few years. For fans like myself, this is amazing news.
Heated Rivalry is a must-watch series for the new year, so if somehow you haven’t seen it yet, come to the cottage!
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