All articles tagged with #heated rivalry
Daniel Diemer and Shaheen Jafargholi join Heated Rivalry Season 2 as Ryan Price and Fabian Salah, the central couple from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series. The show, based on the sixth book The Long Game, is written and directed by Jacob Tierney for Crave/HBO Max, with Season 2 set to premiere in spring 2027; Ryan is a Canadian NHL player grappling with anxiety and body image, while Fabian is a Lebanese-Canadian indie musician.
Daniel Diemer (Percy Jackson) and Shaheen Jafargholi (War) have joined Heated Rivalry Season 2, portraying Ryan Price and Fabian Salah, respectively. They join returning leads Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Justice Smith, and Charlie Gillespie, with the new season set to premiere in spring 2027. The LGBTQIA drama from Accent Aigu Entertainment is produced for Crave in Canada and HBO in the U.S., with Bell Media’s Crave ordering the second season and CMF support. Additional cast includes Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, and Sabrina Jalees, and Sphere Abacus handles international distribution as the project returns for a second season following its prior success.
At the 42nd TCA Awards, Apple TV's Widow's Bay led with multiple wins (including Outstanding Comedy and New Program), while Crave/HBO Max's Heated Rivalry took Program of the Year and HBO Max's The Pitt won Outstanding Drama; Netflix's Death by Lightning won in Movies, Miniseries or Specials, and Apple TV finished with five wins overall, followed by Netflix and HBO. Rhea Seehorn and Kate O’Flynn earned individual achievements, Stephen Colbert received the Career Achievement Award, and Heated Rivalry is notable for its Canadian origin and Emmy ineligibility in the U.S. The awards were announced via press release and clips rather than a live ceremony.
At the 42nd Television Critics Association Awards, Heated Rivalry won Program of the Year, Widow’s Bay took Outstanding Comedy (and New Program), and The Pitt earned Outstanding Drama. Other winners included Death by Lightning for Movies, Miniseries or Specials, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for Variety/Talk/Sketch, and acting honors for Kate O’Flynn (Widow’s Bay) and Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus); Stephen Colbert received the Career Achievement Award and In Living Color was recognized with the Heritage Award, with prizes spread across Apple TV+, HBO Max, Netflix and Peacock among others.
Producers promise season 2 will lean into emotion and sensation over secrets, continuing Shane and Ilya’s on-ice romance while weaving in material from Rachel Reid’s The Long Game and Role Model. New castings (Emily Hampshire, Priyanka, Charlie Gillespie as Troy, Justice Smith as Harris) expand the Ottawa Centaurs roster, with filming underway for a spring 2027 Crave/HBO Max premiere. The show emphasizes that there are already many answers in the books, and writers aim for a bold, feel-driven season rather than convoluted twists.
Heated Rivalry Season 2 adds five new cast members—Emily Hampshire as Vanessa, Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas, Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes, Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali, and Priyanka as Tarek—joining returning leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie and previously announced additions Charlie Gillespie and Justice Smith, with the new season set to premiere in spring 2027 on HBO Max. Separately, Off Campus Season 2 casts Shay Rudolph as Dean’s sister Summer, continuing the romance between Allie Hayes and Dean Di Laurentis.
Heated Rivalry’s Season 2 has begun filming in Canada, with Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie returning and Justice Smith (Harris Drover) and Charlie Gillespie (Troy Barrett) joining the cast. Deadline reports additional arrivals: Emily Hampshire as Vanessa, Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas, Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes, Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali, and Priyanka as Tarek. The setting shifts away from the cottage to Harris’s family apple orchard, and the new season is slated to premiere in spring 2027 (no holiday-season run mentioned).
Five new cast members—Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees, and Priyanka—are joining Season 2 of the Crave-HBO Max hockey drama Heated Rivalry, to appear alongside returning stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie and fellow new additions Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie. Hampshire will play Vanessa, Ryding is Luca Haas, Naylor Wyatt Hayes, Jalees Farah Jalali, and Priyanka Tarek. The series, based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers books, was renewed for a second season after its surprise 2025 success.
Deadline reports Heated Rivalry has added five new cast members for Season 2 — Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees, and Priyanka — joining returning stars Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie. Robert Naylor is set to portray Wyatt Hayes, a key character from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series. The season will continue Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov’s story while introducing new elements (Book 6, The Long Game and Role Model) and is slated to premiere Spring 2027 on Crave/HBO Max in multiple regions.
Dylan Walsh, star of the hockey romance series Heated Rivalry, finds himself in hot water after a Cameo clip hinting at 12 new Season 2 episodes goes viral; he paused his Cameo account and posted he’s stepping away following the controversy, as production reportedly continues in Canada for a Season 2 that may be tightly packed or split.
Deadline reports Dylan Walsh paused his Cameo after a viral video hinted at Season 2 updates for Crave’s Heated Rivalry, with Walsh noting a 12-episode shoot in Canada; production has begun for the sophomore season, Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie are on board as leads for a Spring 2027 premiere, and there’s fan chatter about filming Seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back.
Justice Smith is joining season 2 of Heated Rivalry as Harris Drover, starring opposite Charlie Gillespie’s Troy Barrett. The Crave–HBO Max series, based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, will be shot in Ottawa with a spring 2027 premiere targeted after its renewal; showrunners and Reid defended the casting amid fan debate.
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.