Heated Rivalry Creator Teases Major Change For Season 2’s Long Game Adaptation

Jacob Tierney may be approaching Heated Rivalry season 2 a bit differently this time around.

Tierney is the creator of Crave and HBO Max’s romance phenomenon about two hockey rivals, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, whose secret relationship changes their private and professional lives. For the six-episode first season, Tierney served as the sole writer and director, adapting Rachel Reid’s novel with lead stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in the roles of Shane and Ilya, respectively. For its second season, Tierney will be adapting Reid’s follow-up novel, The Long Game, but he might be tweaking his process a bit.

Heated Rivalry Season 2: Release Date, Story, & Everything We Know

Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov’s story will continue in Heated Rivalry season 2, with some details about its sophomore return already confirmed.

Tierney told Deadline that “there’s a lot of material” in the second novel after slyly saying, “Who said I’m doing it all?” Fans have long speculated whether Tierney would adapt the entire 416-page novel in season 2’s six episodes, with many worried that the series could skip over important moments for the sake of brevity. In The Long Game, Shane and Ilya are officially a couple and must navigate the next phase of their relationship, which includes Ilya’s move to the Ottawa Centaurs and the opening of their charity, the Irina Foundation.

The first Shane and Ilya novel, also titled Heated Rivalry, runs a bit shorter than its sequel at roughly 372 pages and though it is jam-packed with story, Tierney earned acclaim for the way he was able to tell Shane and Ilya’s story in just five episodes after the show’s third was dedicated to Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud) and Kip Grady’s (Robbie GK) love story, the subject of Reid’s first novel in the series, Game Changer.

In an addition to potentially splitting The Long Game across multiple seasons, Tierney is also bringing on a co-writer for the upcoming episodes. Michael Goldbach has been brought onboard as Tierney’s co-writer, which the creator hopes will help him in bringing to life the nuances of the book’s story. Goldbach is set to deliver a script to Tierney soon, who had nothing but good things to say about his co-writer in the same interview with Deadline:

“Mike is not just an old, dear friend of mine who I’ve known for years. He’s legitimately one of my favorite writers. I said this to him just the other day because I’m about to read his first draft of a script. I was like, ‘I’m so fucking lucky that I get to read your writing again and it’s for my show.’ He writes with so much heart and humor, and he’s so smart. But he also does a thing where he always zigs where you’re supposed to zag.”

Heated Rivalry season 2 is currently slated for release in spring 2027, with filming set to kick off sometime this summer. Casting is underway for a slew of new roles featured in the second book, with Tierney previously saying that they will continue to look for Canadian talent when casting pivotal roles.

Regardless of who is cast, the potential for The Long Game to be split over multiple seasons will likely be a relief for Heated Rivalry‘s legions of diehard fans. Not only does this mean that this pivotal chapter in Shane and Ilya’s story will get the proper treatment, but it also potentially means more seasons of Heated Rivalry overall. With a third book by Reid on the way (Unrivaled will hit shelves in 2027), Tierney would have to complete Shane and Ilya’s story in a potential fourth season, which no one will be complaining about.

All episodes of Heated Rivalry season 1 are streaming on HBO Max in the US.