Excitement surrounding the second season of Heated Rivalry has reached fever pitch, but fans of the steamy ice-hockey drama are being asked to give its cast and crew room to work.
Production is getting underway in Toronto, Canada, with Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams returning as rival professional hockey players and secret lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander.
The series became a breakout success during its first season, turning Storrie and Williams into international stars and inspiring an intensely devoted online fanbase.
With parts of the new season expected to be filmed in public locations, the team behind Heated Rivalry has issued a message asking supporters not to disrupt production.
“To our incredible fans and everyone who’s been sharing in the excitement for the show,” a statement posted through the programme’s official social media channels reads.
“Your support, enthusiasm, and kindness have meant the world to us. As we gear up for more Heated Rivalry, please help us make it the best it can be.
“If you happen to come across one of our filming locations, please give our cast and crew the space they need to do what they do best.
“We promise it’ll be worth the wait.”
The request follows a dramatic increase in public attention surrounding Storrie and Williams since the first season premiered. The production team is preparing for similar interest around filming locations as work on the highly anticipated follow-up begins in Toronto.
Season two expected in 2027
Fans will still have some time to wait before Shane and Ilya return to screens.
Series creator and showrunner Jacob Tierney has indicated that the new season is expected to arrive in April 2027, with cameras scheduled to begin rolling in August 2026. The programme will continue streaming on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the United States.
Tierney has also made it clear that he does not intend to rush the creative process in response to the extraordinary level of fan interest.
“As much as I appreciate how rabid and interested people are at this point, the first season worked because I trusted my gut with this, and I’m going to do that again,” he told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published in February.
Shane and Ilya enter The Long Game
Heated Rivalry is adapted from the second novel in Canadian author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series of queer ice-hockey romances.
Season two will continue Shane and Ilya’s story, drawing from material in The Long Game and Role Model. The sixth book in the series, The Long Game, returns to the couple after they have spent a decade keeping their relationship hidden from friends, family and the professional hockey world.
Although Shane and Ilya remain together, the pressure of maintaining their public rivalry and private romance has become increasingly difficult.
“Ten years. That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family… from the league,” the book’s official synopsis reads.
“If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?”
The novel explores the growing tension between Shane’s fear that coming out could destroy their careers and Ilya’s frustration at continuing to conceal the most important relationship in his life.
New characters from the wider Game Changers world are also expected to appear, including hockey player Troy Barrett and Ottawa Centaurs social media manager Harris Drover.
For now, the message to fans is straightforward: excitement is welcome, but the actors and production crew need space to create the season audiences are so eager to see.
