Heated Rivalry is returning in 2027 with new cast members, higher stakes, and another chapter in Shane and Ilya’s love story.
The gay hockey romance nobody saw coming has assembled its second-season roster, and it reads like a fantasy draft for prestige TV fans. HBO Max and Crave announced Wednesday that Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees, and Priyanka are joining Heated Rivalry for season two, adding to a cast that already includes Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie.
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Meet The New Season Two Cast Of Heated Rivalry
Season two is set to land in 2027 on HBO Max in the Philippines. Given how pleasantly sudden season one snuck into our FYP’s last November before becoming a household name, we can expect the marketing rollout this time to be much louder.
Hampshire, fresh off her Schitt’s Creek fame and Marvel’s VisionQuest, steps into the role of Vanessa. Ryding of Young Royals and 28 Years Later (2025), plays Luca Haas. Naylor, of Mile End Kicks (2025) is set to play Wyatt Hayes. Jalees of I Used to Be Funny (2025) and Black Mirror joins as Farah Jalali, and Priyanka, last seen in Drag Brunch Saved My Life, plays Tarek. They fall in alongside returning stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who spent season one making rink-side chemistry look dangerously sultry.
What We Know So Far
For anyone who spent 2025 evangelizing this show to every friend who’d listen, the second season adapts “The Long Game,” Rachel Reid’s sixth novel in the Game Changers series and the only other book that centers on Shane and Ilya specifically. The story catches up with the pair as boyfriends, which sounds like a happy ending until you remember they’re still hiding the relationship from the public eye. Ilya has just been traded to a new team partly so the two can actually see each other.
Creator Jacob Tierney, who writes, directs, and executive produces, has warned that this installment trades in messier, more grown-up stakes than the will-they-won’t-they of season one. Mike Goldbach is also set to join as co-writer.
When Is Heated Rivalry Season Two Coming Out?
Filming started in late July, a full eight months after the show’s December 2025 renewal, and Tierney has been upfront about not wanting to rush a follow-up just because demand is loud. No premiere date is set beyond “spring 2027” yet, so consider this the official start of the countdown.
Photos courtesy of HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery
Frequently Asked Questions
Heated Rivalry Season 2 is expected to premiere in spring 2027 on HBO Max in the Philippines.
Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees, and Priyanka are joining the Season 2 cast.
Yes. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will return as Shane and Ilya, with Season 2 following them as a committed couple.
Heated Rivalry Season 2 will adapt Rachel Reid’s The Long Game, following Shane and Ilya as they hide their relationship from the public while Ilya plays for a new team.
Filming for Heated Rivalry Season 2 started in late July, eight months after the show was renewed in December 2025.
