With all due respect to the Stanley Cup playoffs, there’s an even bigger hockey event happening next spring.
The buzzy sports romance series “Heated Rivalry” is expected to return for Season 2 in Spring 2027, as revealed during Thursday’s “CBS Mornings” interview with series creator Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady. During their Q&A with Gayle King, the EPs confirmed that Season 2 begins filming in August 2026, with King later stating an April 2027 premiere timetable for the new episodes.
A rep for the Canadian streaming service Crave confirmed to TVLine that a Spring 2027 premiere is being targeted, but did not confirm that the show would be back in April. It’s also not yet known if Season 2 will arrive simultaneously on Crave and the show’s Stateside home, HBO Max.
“The reason [for the wait between seasons] is because we didn’t know we were going to sell the show, we didn’t know anybody was going to watch it. I had not written a second season, I didn’t know I was going to get a second season,” Tierney told King, when jokingly asked why viewers need to wait so long for Season 2 to arrive. “But it’s all happening, we’re writing it now, we’re getting ready to start shooting this summer, and there will be more ‘Heated Rivalry’ on your TVs truly as soon as humanly possible.”
Added Brady, speaking directly to fans, “Like the best parts of this show, just enjoy the yearn.”
What is Heated Rivalry about?
Based on Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” novel series, “Heated Rivalry” follows the years-long clandestine romance between pro hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). The cast also includes François Arnaud, Franco Lo Presti, Callan Potter, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, Christina Chang, Sophie Nélisse, and Robbie G.K.
Ahead of the show’s streaming debut on Crave in November 2025, HBO Max acquired Stateside rights to “Heated Rivalry” — and upon its launch on both platforms, the series immediately broke out as one of the year’s buzziest. (It landed on our list of the best TV shows of 2025, too.) Williams and Storrie have, in turn, become two of television’s biggest rising stars: Storrie is set to host the February 28 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” while Williams has been cast in the Crave series “Yaga.”
You can watch Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady’s full “CBS Mornings” interview below, then drop a comment with all of your thoughts:
“There will be more ‘Heated Rivalry’ truly as soon as humanly possible”: Jacob Tierney, the creator, executive producer, director and writer of the TV series “Heated Rivalry,” says the romance between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov captured the hearts of fans because of their… pic.twitter.com/XSLTXPCBbn
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 26, 2026