Heated Rivalry shooting seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back, with a “standalone" film in the works!
Dylan Walsh was right!
Breaking MLM hockey romance news incoming: Heated Rivalry is currently shooting its second and third seasons back to back, while a “standalone” film is set to his cinemas!
On 7 November, sources close to Deadline revealed that the cast is filming 12 episodes, which will be split across two seasons. A Christmas special or holiday-themed episode is also reportedly planned for a theatrical release in December 2027.
The love story between Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) will not feature in the film; instead it will focus on Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud) and Kip (Robbie G.K.), “with additional characters from the series also featured”.
And there's more! Rachel Reid, author of the Game Changers book series on which Heated Rivalry is based, has written a short story depicting Scott and Kip's first Christmas together, titled Merry Christmas, Scott and Kip!
Fans of Heated Rivalry have long suspected that more episodes were on the way. Back in August, Dylan Walsh, who plays Shane's father, David Hollander, accidentally revealed in a Cameo video that he would be filming "12 [episodes] this time".
He later took a hiatus from Cameo, with a statement on his profile saying he’s “unavailable for personalized videos” and that he’s “stepping away because a video went viral that got me in trouble”.
The second season of Heated Rivalry will primarily adapt The Long Game, the sixth novel in Reid's Game Changers series and the second to centre on Shane and Ilya. It will also incorporate elements from Tough Guy and Role Model.
Alongside Williams, Storrie, Arnaud, G.K. and Walsh, the second season will see the return of Christina Chang as Yuna Hollander, Callan Potter as Hayden Pike, Matthew Finlan as Kyle Swift, Nadine Bhabha as Elena Rygg and Sophie Nélisse as Rose Landry.
New cast members include Justice Smith as Harris Dover, Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett, Daniel Diemer as Ryan Price, Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah, Emily Hampshire as Vanessa, Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas, Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes, Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali, Priyanka as Tarek and Kevin Zegers as Coach Weibe.
More star power incoming: Milla Jovovich as Dr Galina Molchalina and Paul Gross as Commission Roger Crowell, Brendan Morgan as Zane Boodram, David Tomlinson as Cody Kent, David Tomlinson as Coach Cooper, Gerry Dee as Coach Cooper, Michelle Mylett as Lisa, Lauren Chan as Gen and Nick Stahl as Curtis Barrett.
Heated Rivalry season two is scheduled to premiere in April 2027. Visit here for everything we know so far.
