Connor Storrie has teased when the upcoming second season of Heated Rivalry will start shooting (!).
During his appearance on The Today Show (14 January), the star behind Ilya Rozanov told Craig Melvin that showrunner Jacob Tiernay is “still writing” the highly-anticipated follow-up and “we’re gonna be filming soon.”
“I don’t know when exactly,” Storrie added. When asked if that means “this summer,” he replied: “Yeah, I think about then.”
Heated Rivalry, based on Rachel Reid’s novel of the same name from her MLM romance Game Changers series, premiered in November on Crave. The show was quickly picked up for U.S. distribution on HBO Max and has become a pop culture phenomenon.
The series follows rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov as they embark on a secret fling, which evolves into a years-long journey of “love, denial and self-discovery.”
As per the synopsis: “Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle 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’s room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile – and powerful – as real love.”
Heated Rivalry has earned universal critical acclaim, with the fifth and sixth episodes ranked among the highest of all time on IMDb. Critics praised Storrie and Williams’ performances and chemistry, Tierney’s faithfulness to the source material and the show’s intimate scenes.
Storrie and Williams have since been catapulted to global stardom, each surpassing two million followers on Instagram, covering publications such as GQ, Cultured, Interview and Timid, and receiving invitations to present at the 2026 Golden Globes.
Over the past week, the duo have made additional high-profile appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Today Show.
Season two of Heated Rivalry is expected to adapt The Long Game, the second ‘Hollanov’ novel in Reid’s series. Tiernay recently assured fans that it will arrive sooner than the drawn-out release schedules that have plagued other series.
“It’s not gonna be two years. It’s not even gonna be 18 months, I don’t think,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “So we’re gonna go as fast as we can, while ensuring that we’re doing as good a job as we possibly can.”
“There’s only so fast a track to go down when the show is written and directed by one person,” he added. “I haven’t started writing yet—but we are aware. We want to get the season out as soon as we can, while also making sure we give people a good second season.”
Heated Rivalry is streaming in the UK on Sky and NOW TV.
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