Heated Rivalry 2: Is It Happening? Release Window, Renewal Odds, and What to Expect

Heated Rivalry blew up fast. Crave rolled out this Canadian sports romance about two NHL enemies who fall for each other, and it instantly turned into a word-of-mouth hit. The show is based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers books, and Season 1 zeroed in on Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov going from rivals to the real thing. It worked. So well, in fact, that Season 2 was ordered before Season 1 even finished airing.

Season 2 is officially happening — here is the timeline so far

Crave and HBO Max made the renewal official on December 12, 2025, off the back of a huge launch. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it was Crave's biggest original series premiere ever. The pickup actually happened two weeks before the Season 1 finale went live, which tells you how confident everyone was.

Now for the part you actually want: when do we get more? The answer is... not immediately. Hudson Williams (Shane) told Variety the team is eyeing a summer 2026 start for filming — he said July or August was floated — and he is already bulking up for it: 10 lean pounds, to be exact. The catch is the scripts are not written yet. Creator/writer/director Jacob Tierney admitted to Variety in December 2025 that he was starting from zero this time and wants to protect the quality:

"I don't want to put out a rushed shitty second season just because the show is very popular."

Translation: they know you do not want to wait two years between seasons, but they also do not want to crank out something half-baked. If production really does land in mid-2026, early 2027 feels like the realistic release window — maybe sooner if the writing train leaves the station quickly.

Where Season 2 is headed (book readers, you know)

Season 1 wrapped with Shane and Ilya recommitting to each other after a rollercoaster year, ending up at that cozy retreat known as The Cottage. Season 2 shifts gears and jumps ahead almost a decade. It pulls from Rachel Reid's follow-up novel The Long Game, which finds the guys still solid — and still not telling the world. Expect the show to dig into what it actually looks like to balance a high-profile career, fame, and a relationship that can not stay in the shadows forever. Less new-fling fireworks, more grown-up complications.

Episodes, cast, and the 'hotter, wetter, longer' tease

No episode count yet, but Williams and Connor Storrie (Ilya) joked in an Instagram video that Season 2 will be "hotter, wetter, and longer." Read between the lines: possibly more than six episodes this time. The rest of the cast has not been announced, but Williams and Storrie are locked in — both reportedly signed for three seasons (per GQ).

Quick hits

• Show: Heated Rivalry, a Canadian sports romance drama from creator/writer/director Jacob Tierney
• Based on: Heated Rivalry, the second novel in Rachel Reid's Game Changers series (Season 2 draws from The Long Game)
• Premise: NHL stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov go from bitter rivals to a long-running, secret relationship that clashes with hockey's macho culture
• Renewed: December 12, 2025 by Crave and HBO Max, after delivering Crave's biggest original series launch to date
• Production chatter: Williams says summer 2026 is likely; Tierney is writing now and not rushing it
• Release window: Early 2027 is a safe bet if schedules hold, with a chance it lands earlier
• Where to watch: Streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada

Heated Rivalry is now streaming on HBO Max in the United States. What are you hoping to see in the time jump — full public, or keep the secret simmering a little longer?