What’s ahead for season 2 of the Canadian phenom Heated Rivalry — about the hot affair between two closeted professional hockey players?
Adapted from the Game Changer books by Nova Scotia romance novelist Rachel Reid (pen name for Rachelle Goguen), the Crave original series follows Montreal Metros player Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Boston Raiders player Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) in the fictional MLH (Major League Hockey)..Their rivalry on the ice, and torrid love affair off of it, changes both of their lives.
Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams and their stunt doubles at Guleph’s Sleeman Centre, where all the hockey scenes were filmed in season one.
What happened in season one?
We learn that Canadian Shane and Russian Ilya have hidden their sexual relationship since their rookie days in the MLH, but they do take some steps out of he closet in the season finale — inspired by the New York Admirals Captain Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) who comes out as openly gay when he kisses his boyfriend Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.) on the ice after winning the MLH championship.
Ilya agrees to join Shane for a few weeks at his cottage to try to plan a future together. But when Shane’s Dad surprises them in an intimate moment and rushes out, Shane panics. Ilya calms him down and suggests it’s time for Shane to come out to both his parents– which he does with Ilya by his side.
What’s ahead in season 2?:
We’re following Shane and Ilya. That’s not gonna be a shock — Heated Rivalry writer/director Jacob Tierney told Entertainment Weekly about season 2.
Jacob Tierney drew from the first and second Game Changers novels for season one. The first novel Game Changer tells the Scott and Kip story and the second novel Heated Rivalry follows Shane and Ilya from their first meeting at a Canada vs Russia game before they were both drafted into the MLH..
It’s not until the sixth novel The Long Game that the book series catches up with Shane and Ilya again– Shane is still playing for the Montreal Metros and Ilya is now playing for Ottawa but their relationship remains a secret.
Start reading The Long Game if you want to spoil it for yourself– Mark Storrie on Instagram.
But Jacob Tierney may not want to follow the course of The Long Game exactly — he may want to draw out Shane and Ilya’s secret relationship even longer or take it public sooner. He could also choose to bring in other characters from the book series to extend the narrative. Whatever direction Tierney goes in, he says he won’t do it alone this time with plans to hire other writers to help with the scripts.
Heated Rivalry Season 2;
Ontario and Quebec filming dates:
Writer/Director Jacob Tierney.
Cast: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Robbie G.K., Francois Arnaud, Christina Chang, David Walsh, Callan Potter, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, Yaroslav Poverlo, Slavic Rogozine, Benjamin Roy.
Producers: Accent Aigu Entertainment, , Bell Media Studios.
Filming locations:
Shane’s cottage in the season finale played by cottage in Muskoka Lakes, Ontario.