Heated Rivalry Season 2 Is Heating Up: Release Date Clues, Cast Shake-Ups, and What to Expect

Heated Rivalry is lacing up for Season 2, with Crave renewing the hit sports romance and HBO Max retaining U.S. rights. Adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changer novels, the series follows superstar hockey rivals Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as sparks fly on and off the ice.

Heated Rivalry isn’t even done with Season 1, and Crave has already hit the greenlight for Season 2. The show is a monster for the Canadian streamer, and yes — Max will keep it in the U.S. again. If you’ve been watching two superstar hockey players fake-hate each other on the ice while sneaking around off it, you’re getting more of it.

Quick hits

• Renewed: Season 2 is officially happening at Crave; Max holds U.S. rights again.
• Source material: Expect Season 2 to draw from Rachel Reid’s sixth Game Changer novel, The Long Game.
• Season 1 stats: Six episodes total; premiered November 28, 2025; four episodes have aired so far; two to go.
• Performance: It’s already Crave’s most-watched original series on record.
• Premise: Hockey superstars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov carry on a secret romance while the league sells them as bitter rivals.

So what’s in Season 2?

Official plot details are still tucked away, but the cast basically told fans where to look. Connor Storrie (Ilya) all but pointed at the bookshelf during the renewal announcement video on X, and Hudson Williams (Shane) did his part to raise eyebrows.

"Start reading The Long Game if you want to spoil it for yourselves."

"Hotter, wetter, longer."

If the show follows The Long Game, we’re jumping ahead to a point where Shane and Ilya have been together for a decade — still keeping it quiet — and Ilya is done hiding. That’s the tension: go public or keep living in the shadows. It’s a clean setup that fits the show’s vibe, just with higher stakes and way less plausible deniability.

Where Season 1 is right now

Season 1 launched November 28 with six episodes total. Four are out. The early run charts the start of Shane and Ilya’s secret relationship while the league milks their rivalry for headlines. By Episode 4, they’re in that maddening on-again/off-again zone: Shane’s team has won back-to-back championships, the guys reconnect for an intimate day and actually open up, and then Shane bails after an emotionally heavy moment. He pivots into a public relationship with actress Rose Landry, which does exactly what you think it does to Ilya.

After a rough game, they end up at the same nightclub and basically try to make each other jealous by flirting with other women. It’s messy, it’s pointed, and it puts them on a collision course for the final two episodes.

Who’s back next season?

Crave hasn’t rolled out a Season 2 cast list yet, but you can safely expect the leads back. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie have already teased their return with a wink — "We’ll both be there," followed by "Or we won’t." Cute. Francois Arnaud (Scott Hunter) and Robbie G.K. (Kip) are also likely to continue, though no new roles or expanded arcs have been announced yet.

How to watch

Canada: Crave. U.S.: Max. Season 1 still has two episodes left, and the renewal means you won’t be left hanging for long once the finale hits.