'Heated Rivalry' begins filming, eyes 2027 release

Fans of Ilya and Shane's romance, this is it! Heated Rivalry is returning for a second season by next year.

Series creator Jacob Tierney confirmed the news alongside executive producer Brendan Brady on Thursday, Feb. 26, on the show CBS Mornings, adding that filming will begin this August.

“There will be more Heated Rivalry on your TVs, truly as soon as humanly possible,” Tierney said, saying the series is planning to release the next season in April 2027.

He added that the show's fans should “enjoy the yearn” until new episodes come out.

Tierney also commented on the appeal of the series: "It has the hallmarks and trappings of a real classic romance, years of longing and yearning and trying to get together and do the right thing for each other and not being able to, and then eventually a happy ending."

"It is laser-focused on that love story. There's not a lot of diversion from it. And I think that's what the audience responds to, is kind of the intensity and the focus of the storytelling," he added.

Heated Rivalry is based on a novel by Rachel Reid in her Game Changers gay-themed ice hockey romance book series.

The series has been a global phenomenon, and its second season was announced by Crave and HBO Max on Dec. 12. According to research group Luminate, it has raked in about 30 million streaming minutes during its first week on the popular streamer.

The show stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as Ilya and Shane, hockey rivals who hide a decade-long forbidden romance and their sexualities. It also features François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, and Dylan Walsh.

Reid's also announced that the next book in her Game Changers series Unrivaled is delayed to a June 2027 release after battling with Parkinson's disease.