If the recent face emoji had been a TV present, it might 100% be HBO Max’s viral sensation Heated Rivalry. Because the collection premiered in November 2025, followers have been residing in a near-feral state of hockey-romance limbo, which has (not surprisingly) sparked nonstop dialog in regards to the spicy sports activities romance’s future. However will we be getting extra Staff Hollanov face-offs within the type of a second season? It’s excellent news, followers: Heated Rivalry Season 2 is within the works!
However with a lot speak in regards to the present swirling on-line, it’s arduous to parse what we really know and what’s nonetheless TBD. So, right here’s a sensible rundown of every thing that’s been stated — or hinted at — thus far.
Is Season 2 formally taking place?
In case you’re within the temper to rejoice, go forward and put the champagne on ice… as a result of we’ll *positively* see our hockey heroes Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) again on ice as nicely.
Crave, the Canadian streaming service answerable for Heated Rivalry, confirmed a second season again in December. HBO Max additionally confirmed the collection will return for U.S. streaming. And, much more thrilling, there’s a really sturdy risk that the present will stretch nicely past a second season.
For starters, Williams and Storrie have each reportedly signed on for 3 seasons, in response to GQ Hype. There’s additionally the truth that the present relies on Canadian author Rachel Reid’s bestselling, soon-to-be-seven-book series Game Changers. Heated Rivalry relies on and takes its title from the second novel within the collection, which was revealed in 2019. This, after all, signifies that there’s lots extra supply materials (extra on that in a minute!).
Lastly, the present has the type of wildly passionate fanbase and on-line engagement that sometimes bodes nicely for future renewals.
When will Season 2 premiere?
It’s nonetheless means too early for a launch date. Nevertheless, we do have no less than a bit perception right into a timeline. Talking to Variety, Williams talked about that filming may kick off in “July or August,” which might seemingly put the earliest launch for the present in late 2026.
Feedback made by present creator Jacob Tierney appear to counsel that timeline might be doable, however we is also , like, early 2027. Tierney informed Variety in a December interview, “It may well’t be similar time subsequent 12 months as a result of this time final 12 months, I’d written 5 of those [scripts], and this time this 12 months I’ve written zero of them.”
What may Season 2 be about?
OK, time to circle again to Reid’s ebook collection. So, Heated Rivalry attracts its materials from Reid’s second novel by the identical title, which clearly focuses on the beginning of Shane and Ilya’s rivals-to-secret-lovers relationship. Tierney informed Collider that Season 2 will look to the sixth ebook in Reid’s collection, The Lengthy Recreation, as its “foundational doc.”
What does that imply, precisely? Whereas we seemingly received’t get any stable particulars for some time, the ebook itself offers us no less than an concept of what we’re working with — and The Lengthy Recreation actually expands Shane and Ilya’s relationship past secret hookups to discover what sustained intimacy appears like, particularly underneath the highlight of public scrutiny. Can their love survive the stress that comes with pursuing big-time hockey careers? What kind of skilled sacrifices will they should make? What are the rewards, but additionally the prices, of selecting one another brazenly?
Suffice it to say, there might be some heavier stuff coming for Staff Hollanov.
“I believe a part of that’s there’s positively a component of disappointment to what’s coming, of loneliness and of isolation,” Tierney informed the Shut Up Evan podcast. “Of Ilya studying lots about himself, and Shane studying lots about himself too.”
Who would return for Season 2?
Casting particulars stay unannounced, however it’s fairly clear primarily based on Tierney’s feedback that any continuation would come with Shane and Ilya, aka real-life Williams and Storrie. Some other casting hypothesis stays simply that for now: hypothesis.
And though the prospect of not seeing any of the forged in new episodes for one more 12 months (or extra) feels unlucky, no less than we dwell within the period of streaming, the place we will watch each episode of Season 1 on repeat till Shane and Ilya’s hockey romance skates again onto our screens.
Trending Merchandise
