Heated Rivalry season two is coming “as soon as humanly possible”, according to series creator Jacob Tierney.
Jacob revealed on CBS Mornings that stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will start filming the next instalment of the hockey romance in August this year.
“There will be more Heated Rivalry on your TVs truly as soon as humanly possible,” Jacob said.
He added that fans should “enjoy the yearn” while they wait for the new episodes.
Sex educator Eleanor Hadley has given the show her tick of approval, revealing to WHO that the show “impressed” her with how well they portrayed sex scenes on screen during the first season.
“I watched it and immediately was like, this is sexy as f–k… These sex scenes are depicted so well,” she told WHO.
When is Heated Rivalry season two coming out?
With the cast returning to film in August, the network expects to release the new season in April 2027.
That will give fans plenty of time to rewatch season one before the new season comes out.
What happens in Heated Rivalry season one?
Heated Rivalry centres on star hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).
The official series description reads: “What begins as a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial and self-discovery.
“Over the next eight years, the pair chase glory on the ice while struggling to navigate their feelings off it.
“Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there is room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and as powerful as real love.”
What many people thought was just a fun, spicy series quickly became much-loved for the love story it created.
What is season two of Heated Rivalry about?
HBO Max first announced season two in December 2025, with a video of Hudson and Connor opening a gift box containing a hockey puck that read “Heated Rivalry” on one side and “Season 2” on the other.
They captioned it, “The game’s not over. Season 2 of #HeatedRivalry is coming to HBO Max.”
In the video, Connor told fans, “Start reading The Long Game if you wanna spoil it for yourselves!”
The Long Game is the sixth book in Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series and the sequel to Heated Rivalry.
The book follows Shane and Ilya, who are still keeping their romance a secret, 10 years.
Keeping such a big secret has been a huge challenge for the couple, but they worry that going public would sabotage their careers.
“It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love,” the book’s synopsis says.
Jacob spoke to Variety about how the series turned more romantic after such a very X-rated start.
“There’s quite a bit of sex in The Long Game,” he said. “But I think it functions differently in the second book, and that’s just what I want to do. The journey of this show, no matter how long it goes on for, will always be centred around the relationship between Shane and Ilya.
“Sex will always be a big part of it, like it is with any romantic relationship.
“But it’s really about continuing that progress of what happens after that first blush of love, what happens after you decide you’re in love and how do you sustain it?”
He continued, “That’s a very adult question: ‘We love each other, and now what? Does that mean everything’s easy?’ No, it does not.
“There’s loads of challenges that get thrown Shane and Ilya’s way. Beyond what’s in the books, I really don’t have an agenda besides that I love this couple and I love these characters, and I want to just hang out with them more and watch them grow more and watch them become better for each other.”
Who will star in Heated Rivalry season two?
At this stage, we know that Hudson and Connor are definitely returning (duh!), but Jacob has also revealed that both Kip [Robbie G.K.] and Scott [François Arnaud] will also be back for season two.
When will the third book in the Heated Rivalry series come out?
Rachel Reid is currently writing Unrivalled, the third and final book in Shane and Ilya’s love story.
However, she has revealed that it’s been a difficult road to completing the series.
The author told fans her Parkinson’s disease symptoms have slowed her work, leading her to delay the book’s release from 2026 to 2027.
She shared the news on Instagram, saying, “When good things happen, sometimes the universe hands you some worse stuff to balance it out.
“For me, that’s been that my Parkinson’s symptoms have gotten a bit worse, and it’s made it difficult physically to write.
“So I’m definitely a lot slower, and that’s just something I need to learn how to navigate.”
If you need us, we’ll be watching season one on repeat until next April…
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