All articles tagged with #charlie gillespie
Rachel Reid responded on Instagram Stories to criticism of Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie being cast in Heated Rivalry season 2, urging fans to trust her casting instincts after past backlash about Ilya and Shane. Producers Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady defended the choice, saying the actors bring depth and heart to Harris and Troy, while fans remain divided on whether the new cast fits the characters.
Rachel Reid, author of Game Changer, brushes off online backlash as Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie join Heated Rivalry Season 2; Reid posted an Instagram Story reflecting on past casting chatter, while the new cast includes Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, with no official character descriptions from Crave/HBO Max yet.
Author Rachel Reid pushed back on online criticism of Heated Rivalry’s Season 2 casting, defending Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett and Justice Smith as Harris Drover after fans questioned a ‘skinny’ Harris; showrunners praised the duo, and season 2 is set to film in Ottawa with a spring 2027 release on Crave/HBO Max.
Rachel Reid appeared to dismiss online backlash over Heated Rivalry Season 2 casting after Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie were announced as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett. Reid’s Instagram Story referenced last summer’s criticism of the Ilya/Shane cast, while Deadline confirms the Crave Original’s Season 2 will debut in spring 2027 with production underway in Canada, and the creators praised the leads.
Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have joined Season 2 of the Canadian romantic drama Heated Rivalry, which airs on HBO Max in the U.S. Smith will play Harris Drover, Ottawa’s social-media manager, while Gillespie portrays Troy Barrett, a hockey player who gets traded to Ottawa amid a tense backstory. Returning stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams lead Season 2, with creator Jacob Tierney at the helm; the series is produced for Crave with Bell Media and distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus.
Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie are cast as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett in Season 2 of Crave’s Heated Rivalry, reuniting with returning leads as the hockey-romance series — based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers — moves to a spring 2027 premiere. Production began in Canada, with Accent Aigu Entertainment producing for Crave and Sphere Abacus distributing internationally; Season 2 will continue the saga after Season 1’s Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.
Charlie Gillespie and Justice Smith were cast as Troy Barrett and Harris Drover in Season 2 of the queer hockey romance Heated Rivalry, joining Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. Production is underway, and the season will be adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, with Ottawa as a key setting, focusing on the budding romance between a pro hockey player and the team’s social media manager. Jacob Tierney remains the showrunner/writer/director, and the series is slated for a spring 2027 release on Crave/HBO Max.