Anticipation for the return of gay hockey romance series ‘Heated Rivalry’ grows as ‘Resident Evil’ actress Milla Jovovich was recently confirmed as a new cast member.
Jovovich will play the role of Dr. Galina Molchalina, the Russian therapist Ilya Rozanov sees as he battles with depression.
The American actress and former model is just as excited to be joining the show and she expressed as much in an Instagram post on 3 September.
The announcement
Jovovich wrote to Instagram: “Let’s bring up the heat baby😏 Watch out guys, the Sheriff’s coming to town⚡️😉 HEATED RIVALRY is about to enter the kitchen and you know what they say about it if it’s too hot….💀”
Joining Jovovich are Kevin Zegers (‘Transamerica’, ‘Gossip Girl’), who will play Coach Wiebe, and Paul Gross (‘Due South’) as National Hockey League commissioner Roger Crowell.
Created by Jacob Tierney, ‘Heated Rivalry’ rose to fame immediately after its premiere in November 2025. As a testament to its popularity, the show was greenlit for a second season halfway through its first.
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More newcomers and the returnees
Other newcomers announced earlier are Justice Smith as Harris Drover, Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett, Daniel Diemer as Ryan Price, Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah, Emily Hampshire as Vanessa, Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas, Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes, Priyanka as Tarek, and Sabrina Jalees as Farah.
Returning for the second season are, of course, the beloved main leads Connor Storrie (Ilya Rozanov) and Hudson Williams (Shane Hollander), who are now both sought-after actors following the show’s success.
Joining them are François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. as Scott Hunter and Kip Grady, respectively, Sophie Nélisse (Rose Landry), Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova (Svetlana), Christina Chang (Yuna), Dylan Walsh (David), Callan Potter (Hayden), Benjamin Roy (JJ), and Kamilla Kowal (Jackie).
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Adapting ‘The Long Game’ and ‘Role Model’
‘Heated Rivalry’ season one is adapted from the second book of the same name from the ‘Game Changers’ series by Canadian author Rachel Reid. It also includes the story of Scott and Kip from the first book, ‘Game Changer’.
Season two, meanwhile, will be based on ‘The Long Game’, the last book in the series, which continues the story of Ilya and Shane, who must now keep their relationship secret amid their very public lives.
It will also pull from ‘Role Model’, which follows the budding romance between Ilya’s Ottawa Centaurs teammate Troy Barrett and the team’s social media manager Harris Drover.
Diemer and Jafargholi’s casting as Ryan Price and Fabian Salah, respectively, also points to the possibility that fans will get to see snippets from ‘Tough Guy’, particularly a funeral scene that shows an encounter with Ryan and Ilya, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Filming for the second season is currently underway, with the second season slated for a spring 2027 release.
It will be available for streaming through Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the United States and Australia, as well as in select European and Asian countries.
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