Heated Rivalry introduces viewers to Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov on the small screen, and their story is bound to continue beyond season 1. In a last-minute push for release, HBO Max may have just won the competition for having the biggest show of 2025 by rolling out the queer sports romance series. Created by Jacob Tierney for Crave, Heated Rivalry is based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers novels.
Despite the tendency for adaptations to take big creative liberties, Heated Rivalry hasn't deviated much from its source. Admittedly, it's a risky move, especially if not executed properly. Luckily, the story of Shane and Ilya, arch-rival on the rink but lovers off it, and to some extent, Scott Hunter and Kip Grady's relationship, has captivated the public. With that comes the eagerness to know what the future of Heated Rivalry is beyond season 1.
Heated Rivalry Season 2 Is Confirmed
Almost immediately after the two-episode premiere on HBO Max, the renewal for Heated Rivalry season 2 came ahead of season 5. By then, the show's existence has already spread like wildfire on social media, with edits domninating the space. Quantitatively, HBO Max and Crave's decision is also based on numbers.
Since debuting in late November, the show has now become Crave’s biggest original series on record. It has grown its viewership by nearly 400% per the initial seven-day streams following its premiere, according to per mParticle and Amazon Channels internal data. To further capitalize on its success, more international deals to distribute Heated Rivalry are also reportedly in the works.
Heated Rivalry Season 2 Won't Release Until 2027
While Heated Rivalry is already confirmed to return for a sophomore run, the bad news is that it won't be out until at least 2027. That's according to Tierney (via Variety), who has candidly discussed the matter in light of the increased interest on the show.
“It can’t be the same time next year, because this time last year I’d written five of these, and this time this year I’ve written zero of them. So it’s going to be a little bit later, but it’s still going to be soon.”
While season 1 was only filmed for a couple of months, the creator admitted that it would be nearly impossible to release Heated Rivalry season 2 around the same time next year because he hasn't started writing the scripts yet. To further put it into perspective, months before production for its debut year, he already had several of them done.
Heated Rivalry Season 2 Story Details
Because of how Tierney approached the first part of Shane and Ilya's story to a massive success, it's safe to expect that he will maintain this plan going into season 2. For context, the majority of its events are based on Reid's Heated Rivalry novel, but the author also released a follow-up book that directly continues Shane and Ilya's romance called The Long Game.
For the unitiated, The Long Game sees the pair executing their plan to be together after the events of the first book. By then, Ilya has already changed teams to the Ottawa Centaurs, while Shane remains with the Montreal Metros. Despite solving the distance problem in their relationship, the pair continues to face challenges that could either make or break their bond.
Whether Tierney will stretch out Shane and Ilya's story beyond The Long Game is uncertain. However, it's clear that there's massive interest in the pair's story, so it's possible that HBO Max and Crave would want to further take advantage of that. For now, at least Heated Rivalry is guaranteed to run until season 2.
