Gay hockey romance drama ‘Heated Rivalry’ will be returning for a second season after the show skated its way into everyone’s hearts.
In a video shared by HBO Max on December 12 via its social media accounts, the show’s main stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams made the announcement with a puck reading “Heated Rivalry Season 2”.
“Heated Rivalry. Season 2. Confirmed,” Storrie said.
Williams then cheekily added: “Hotter, wetter, longer.”
Directed, produced and written for the screen by Jacob Tierney, ‘Heated Rivalry’ is an original series by Canadian streaming service Crave.
HBO Max has the license to distribute the series in the United States and Australia, as well as in select European and Asian countries.
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What is ‘Heated Rivalry’ about?
The series took the internet by storm soon after its two-episode premiere on November 28.
Even the National Hockey League has acknowledged that it is the hottest trend right now, with the show’s trailer being played on Bell Centre’s jumbotron during the Pride Night game between the Montreal Canadiens — which is perhaps the real-life counterpart of the fictional team in the series, the Montreal Metros — and the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 10.
The fans are absolutely delighted by these developments, but what exactly is the show about?
Spoiler alert: it is more than just hockey.
‘Heated Rivalry’ is adapted from the novel of the same name from the Game Changers book series by Canadian author Rachel Reid.
The show revolves around rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), who are “two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey” and are “bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands.”
“What begins as a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery,” according to the official logline released by HBO Max.
With Hollanov’s story spanning eight years, viewers will witness them “chase glory on the ice while struggling to navigate their feelings off it.”
“Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there is room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and as powerful as real love.”
Apart from Storrie and Williams, the series also stars Francois Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh, Sophie Nelisse and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova.
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What will be the story for season two?
With the first season set to wrap up on December 26 after a six-episode run, many fans are wondering what the next season has in store for Shane and Ilya.
Prior to the official renewal announcement, Tierney confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that “we’re following Shane and Ilya. That’s not gonna be a shock.”
By Tierney’s comment, it seems the second season will adapt The Long Game, the sixth book in Reid’s series, which mainly focuses on Shane and Ilya 10 years into their secret relationship.
“There’s certainly a possibility we’ll have additional resources, and we can do some things that we would want to do,” said Tierney.
“That would be great, but otherwise I would want to keep it spiritually the same show,” he added.
‘Heated Rivalry’ is actually the second book in Reid’s series. It is set in one universe where at least one-half of the main couple is a hockey player.
While there are no confirmations about the adaptation of the other books, the third episode of the series did temporarily take the spotlight off of Shane and Ilya to introduce New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter (Arnaud) and his studious barista boyfriend Kip Grady (G.K.), who are the couple from the novel that started it all, Game Changer.
However, it is unclear whether their story will continue in season two.
For those interested in diving into the Game Changers universe, here are the books in order: Game Changer, Heated Rivalry, Tough Guy, Common Goal, Role Model and The Long Game.
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