Jacob Tiernay has revealed (kinda) whether the upcoming second season of Heated Rivalry will have more episodes than its predecessor.
In an interview with Gold Derby, the creator, writer and director reflected on the viral success of the gay hockey romance, which stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as rival hockey captains who embark on a passionate, secret romance.
As per the official synopsis: “What begins as a secret fling between confused teenagers at 17 evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial and self-discovery. 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.”
With season two officially confirmed and expected for release next year, the publication acknowledged how there have been “calls for the season to be longer than six episodes”.
The response wasn’t as, err, hopeful as fans might have wished, with Tiernay replying: “I don’t know if you’re going to get that.”
However, he added: “But you’re going to get a lot of content. Everyone’s pretty committed to this universe, in this world. So it’s going to be OK. It’s going to be good.”
The fifth episode of Heated Rivalry premiered on 18 December to widespread critical acclaim and has since been hailed as one of the best episodes of television this year. Check out our piece on why we think it’s an all-timer for queer TV.
Tiernay teased the upcoming finale in the interview, saying the crew have described it as their favourite episode: “It’s the sweetest, most romantic episode of this show where these two boys are at a cottage saying they love each other.”
He added: “My favorite scenes are all in Episodes 5 and 6. They’re such different episodes. Episode 5 is so big and so much happens and 6 is so small and so intimate. I just watched the finale this morning because I had to sign off on a bunch of things and it’s so nice to be with the two of them for that long.
“Those moments matter to me. There are so many scenes in the fifth episode that are heartbreaking and also funny and sweet and cute. And then Episode 6 is like a little two-hander that’s so wonderful. It will give our obsessive fans two big needle drops, so get ready for two new favorite songs.”
Earlier this week, it was announced that Heated Rivalry will *finally* premiere in the UK and Ireland on Sky and NOW TV from 10 January 2026.
The series, which airs on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in various countries, has been lauded for Storrie and Williams’ lead performances, their on and off-screen chemistry, and its faithfulness to Rachel Reid’s source material – including the various sex scenes.
Williams and Storrie have also been catapulted to international stardom. To put it into perspective: they recently surpassed 500k followers on Instagram, after starting out with just a few thousand.
The season one finale of Heated Rivalry airs 26 December.
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