After a surge of popularity across streaming and social platforms, Canadian streaming service Crave and HBO Max announced the renewal of Heated Rivalry, the blockbuster hockey romance drama for a second season.
The announcement came from the stars of the show, Hudson Williams (who plays Shane Hollander) and Connor Storrie (who plays Ilya Rozanov) in an Instagram video. The two unwrapped a gift box which had “Heated Rivalry” written on one side of a hockey puck, and when turned over, the words, “Season 2” appeared.
Heated Rivalry is an orginal series on Crave, created by director, writer, and producer, Jacob Tierney and based off a fictional enemies-to-lovers novel by Rachel Reid, which follows rookie professional hockey players as they come up as superstar hockey players in the league, while also developing feelings for one another. Not only do they have to navigate being rivals – which the league and media are loving pushing into the limelight – but also their (somewhat confusing) feelings for one another, while hiding their personal secrets from everyone in their lives.
Tierney and Executive Producer, Brendan Brady shared in a statement, “Watching our show become an international phenomenon has been extraordinary. We’re profoundly grateful to everyone that has been on this journey with us. Being renewed for a second season so early is a true honor, and we can’t wait to bring you even more of what you love.”
Just one week before Heated Rivalry was set to air on Crave in Canada on November 28, HBO Max picked it up for US and Australian distribution, Storrie told Vanity Fair. Since then, other countries have been added for streaming rights, including New Zealand and Spain. HBO Max is making more deals to expand distribution globally in territories including Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Season 1 consists of six-episodes dropping weekly on Fridays at Midnight ET / 9pm PT, with episode 4 having dropped today, and the remaining episodes coming out on December 19 and the finale on December 26. Season 2 is rumored to have a longer season, and will follow the sequel book in Reid’s LGBTQ+ series.
Stay tuned to IGN for more news on Heated Rivalry as the Season 1 finale gets closer!
Jessie Wade is Associate Director of Editorial Programming at IGN. You can find her playing cozy games on her Switch or watching the latest fantasy and drama shows, as well as getting lost in way too many fantasy romance books.
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